BJP complains to EC over Siddaramaiah's 'mass murderer' jibe

The BJP Wednesday complained to the EC against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah for calling its leader Narendra Modi a "mass murderer".

"The EC should take stringent action against Siddaramaiah for terming Modi a mass murderer without any basis. He should apologise for using such derogatory words against the Gujarat chief minister," party president Rajnath Singh told reporters here Wednesday.

Advising Siddaramaiah to mind his words when criticising anyone, Singh said it was unfortunate that a chief minister of a progressive state like Karnataka should be using such words against Modi.

Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha has forwarded the BJP complaint to the Election Commission.

This week, addressing rallies along with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the party's vice president Rahul Gandhi at various places in the state, Siddaramaiah charged Modi with committing genocide in Gujarat during 2002, in which "about 2,000 minorities were killed", and that Modi had not apologised till date for the heinous crimes in his state.

Rajnath Singh, who was on a day-long visit to the state to campaign for the party's candidates contesting the Lok Sabha election in Karnataka scheduled April 17, said the party's poll manifesto was a document with a commitment to implement its promises over the next five years if elected to power.

"We will set up a price stabilisation fund to check price rise and reduce inflation. We propose to review the purchasing policy of the state-run Food Corporation of India," he said after addressing a public rally at Bellary, about 330 km from here.