Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut took a sharp dig at BJP after the saffron party lost the Karnataka Assembly Elections to Congress. Congress won, which means Bajrang Bali is with Congress and not BJP. Home minister (Amit Shah) was saying that if BJP loses, there willberiots. Karnataka is calm and happy. Where are the riots? Raut asked.
Hitting out at BJP, Mr. Raut said that the victory of Congress in Karnataka has opened a door for the party in the whole country and the Karnataka Assembly election results show that dictatorship has been defeated. "Karnataka election has opened a door for the party in the whole country, the people of Karnataka have shown how dictatorship is defeated. We thank the people of Karnataka," he said.Talking about the Bajrang Bali row, Mr. Raut said, "Bajrang Bali has definitely participated in the election campaign of Karnataka, but he campaigned with the public, and Congress won, meaning Bajrang Bali was not with BJP but with Congress."
The Bajrang Bali row had taken centre stage during the election campaigns in the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly polls. Congress faced a major backlash from Hindu organisations after it announced a ban on Bajrang Dal in its manifesto for the Karnataka assembly elections.Highlighting Home Minister Amit Shah's statement of calling the Congress party a "reverse gear" sarkar, Mr. Raut said, "Amit Shah said that if BJP loses in Karnataka, there will be riots, but after the victory, Karnataka is completely calm and is celebrating, is the country's Home Minister giving threats?"
Earlier, Mr. Shah while addressing a rally at the Navalgund Assembly constituency last month, said, "One hand, there is the Congress under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and on the other, is the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. This (Karnataka Assembly) election is an opportunity for you to decide if you want a double engine sarkar led by PM Modi, which will take Karnataka forward, or the Congress's reverse gear sarkar, which will take Karnataka backwards."