Bengaluru, Feb 24 Rivalry between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress in Karnataka led to a war of words between the two parties over the two-day India visit of US President Donald Trump, starting Monday.
"If @BJP India feels Kashmir has returned to normalcy and there is no government-orchestrated violence, now is the time to prove the same by hosting @realDonaldTrump's event at Kashmir," tweeted Congress leader Siddaramaiah, hours after Trump landed at Ahmedabad.
To this, the Karnataka BJP tweeted, "Don't worry@siddaramaiah avare (esquire), President @realDonaldTrump will definitely be re-elected in November 2020 for another term. #PresidentTrump might visit Kashmir with PM @narendramodi during his next trip to India. By then, #KashmiriPandits will also be back. #NamasteTrump."
Criticising Modi for attempt to hide ghettoes of Ahmedabad from Trump who drove to the Motera cricket stadium from Sardar Vallabhai Patel airport, Siddaramaiah tweeted: "It is time for @realDonaldTrump to get inspired from @narendramodi. Inspiration to build decorative walls to hide not so decorative life."
On Trump's visit to Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram on way to the stadium from airport, the state Congress tweeted, "What was achieved out of a hurried visit to Sabarmati Ashram? Note that @realDonaldTrump wrote on visitors note is actually an insult to Gandhi. There is no mention of Gandhi or Ashram experience in his note. Does @narendramodi endorse this? #WallOfDivisiona.
Comparing Indo-US trade ties during the UPA regime and the NDA government, the Congress claimed: "Trade cooperation flourished with US under UPA. Civil nuclear agreement and trade increased to $100 billion. But after NDA (came), preferential trade status 4 India revoked; Indian goods' import tax increased and HIB visas capped.
"Does @narendramodi have guts to take up these issues? #WallofDivision. One wall won't cover for all the failures of @narendramodi. He needs to build a wall each for economic slump, unemployment rate, agrarian crisis, price rise and industry shutdown."
Ahead of Trump's 3-hour Ahmedabad visit, the Gujarat government had built walls along the airport-stadium route to hide shanties from the sight of the POTUS, First Lady Melania Trump and his delegation.
"Modi needs a wall each to cover his failures and a wall that will be bigger than the Great wall of China. #WallOfDivision. The PM promised to build 100 smart cities which will show the world our development when he got elected to power in 2014. Now he has built a huge wall in Ahmedabad to hide his failures from the world community. This is real #GujaratModel that Modi boasted about," tweeted the KPCC.
On Trump's earlier tweet that 7 million (70 lakh) people were expected to welcome him as promised by Modi, the opposition party said the Prime Minister would go down in history as the first India leader to fool an American President.
"Old habits die hard. Be it Indian people or US President, makes no difference," said the Congress in another tweet.
( With inputs from IANS )