Congress does not need lessons of honesty from BJP: CM

Hitting back at BJP President Amit Shah for his offensive against the Congress government in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today said they did not need lessons of honesty from BJP, whose former ministers and a former Chief Minister were jailed on corruption charges.
"There is no need for Congress to learn lessons of honesty from the BJP, whose former ministers and a former Chief Minister were jailed under corruption charges," he told reporters at an event organised at Chitrakala Parishat here.
Shah had yesterday launched an offensive against the Siddaramaiah-led government calling it "non-performing", corrupt and "defunct" with "abysmal" failure in governance and law and order.

Siddaramaiah also said Shah does not have any right to talk of corruption as he himself had been arrested and jailed earlier in the Shohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.
The Chief Minister recalled that the BJP in Karnataka had lost the previous Assembly elections due to corruption charges against their ministers and their CM.
"BJP came a poor third in last elections due to corruption charges against their ministers," he said.

Shah had also charged the state government with failing to inclusively represent the cause of 6.2 crore people and instead indulging in "sectarian populism". He cited examples of Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill of 2014, introduced in the Assembly, but later withdrawn after opposition from BJP.

The Chief Minister declined to comment on BJP petitioning Governor Vajubhai Vala over appointments for the post of chairman and members of Kanataka Public Service Commission.
A delegation led by BJP state president Prahlad Joshi, national vice president B S Yeddyurappa and other leaders had met the Governor on January 2 and apprised him about a list of persons for being appointed to the posts.