Prime Minister should read Karnataka's political history: Priyank Kharge

Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising doubts on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's tenure in government, Congress MLA Priyank Kharge suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should read up on Karnataka's political history.

"PM should read up on Karnataka's political history. I heard him say that they are not sure for how long our Chief Minister is going to be in power. I think he should really brush up on his general knowledge with respect to Karnataka politics because it was during their tenure that they gave us five Chief Ministers in two terms in less than eight years," Priyank Kharge said speaking to ANI on Tuesday at Karnataka's Kalaburagi.

On the performance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during their term in power in Karnataka, Priyank Kharge said that it was called the "40 per cent government" by newspapers.

"His (Modi) government was the one that was thrown out of Karnataka, and people gave us the biggest mandate in the last 35-40 years of 136 seats. His government was called as the most corrupt government in the country by newspapers calling it the 40 per cent government. That is the legacy of the BJP in Karnataka," the Karnataka Minister said.

Priyank Kharge further said that the Congress is ready for a political debate but the Prime Minister should first read up on Karnataka.

"So if Modi wants to talk about all these politically we are ready for a debate. But let him brush up his general knowledge of Karnataka politics and get back to us...The Prime Minister always likes to give a monologue. The day he is ready for a dialogue, we can debate," he suggested.

Speaking about the Karnataka Chief Minister's tenure, he said, "Why should the PM know? It is our party matter."

There was a power tussle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Deputy DK Shivakumar for the top post in the state government when Congress was elected to power in Karnataka.

Reminding the BJP on the treatment of their Chief Ministers, Priyank Kharge said, "This is the same party that announced Shivraj Singh Chouhan's candidature in the last list. In Maharashtra, they made an ex-CM Deputy Chief Minister and they made Eknath Shinde the Chief Minister. Do you think they (BJP) are in control of anything?"

Speaking about the elections in the five state assemblies, he said, "We are sure that we are in good stead. The BJP's failed economic policies of the Centre has been exposed and we are going to come back to power in all five states."

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh raised doubts about the continuation of Karnataka's chief minister.