Chitradurga (Karnataka) [India], May 2 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lambasted Congress over the issue of security and said that the party has had a "history of appeasement of terrorists".
The Prime Minister said that unlike Congress which had left Karnataka "at the mercy of terrorists" the Bharatiya Janata Party has "broken the back" of terror and appeasement.
The PM was addressing an election campaign rally in Chitradurga in the run-up to the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections.
Referring to the 2008 Batla House encounter in which two terrorists were gunned down by a police team in their rented address in Delhi's Jamia Nagar, the Prime Minister took an apparent jibe at the then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and said that she had "teary eyes" after hearing about the death of the terrorists.
"Congress has a history of appeasement of terror and terrorists. When the Batla House encounter took place in Delhi, then the biggest leader of Congress had teary eyes after getting the news of the terrorists' killings. When surgical strike and air strike happened, Congress questioned the capability of the forces of the country.
"You have seen in Karnataka how Congress has promoted terror. Congress had left Karnataka at the mercy of terrorists. It is the BJP which has broken the back of terror and has stopped the game of appeasement," the prime minister said.
PM Modi also "cautioned" the people of Karnataka against Congress and JD(S), which are contesting the upcoming elections separately, and said that both parties are one by "their heart and deed".
"I want to caution you. The people of Karnataka have to beware of both Congress and JDS. They are two separate parties only to show, but they are one by their heart and deed. Both are dynastic, both promote corruption, and both do divisive politics to divide society. The development of Karnataka is not the priority of both parties," he said.
The Prime Minister said there is a need to bring back the "double-engine government" back to power and said that the state has to be made a "driving force" of a developed India.
"We have to make Karnataka a driving force and growth engine of a developed India. For accomplishing this, we need to bring back to power, the Double-Engine Government. The BJP has announced a good vision document which has a roadmap to make Karnataka the number one state in the country. It has a blueprint of modern infrastructure, and has impetus on the women empowerment," he said.
Meanwhile, the prime minister tried his hands at playing a traditional drum instrument.
{{{{twitter_post_id####}}}}#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried his hands on a traditional instrument today in Chitradurga, Karnataka.#KarnatakaElections pic.twitter.com/HVLnod41rG— (@) May 2, 2023
Karnataka Assembly polls will be held on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.
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