Karnataka   

Modi likens Dakshina Kannada to Gujarat

— Photo: PTI

All-out attack: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi (second from right) with State BJP president Sadananda Gowda (second from left) and other leaders at an election rally at Puttur in Karnataka on Sunday.

PUTTUR (DAKSHINA KANNADA): Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi attracted fewer than 3,000 people on an afternoon rally that was marked with choking humidity and oppressive heat at Puttur on Sunday. The party expected in excess of 10,000 people.

Even the party workers just smiled when the State president of the Bharatiya Janata Party D.V. Sadananda Gowda claimed that over 10,000 people had turned up to hear Mr. Modi speak.

But the gathered crowds managed to egg their leader on with rapturous applause and cheering as he fired one after another salvo at the Congress. The loudest cheer went out to his opening sentence though, when he called Mangalore and Dakshina Kannada “the next Gujarat.” Saying that the region had a lot of cultural and ideological similarity to the people of his State he said: “This is BJP’s next Gujarat.” He predicted that the party would not only form the next Government in Karnataka but also do so with a thumping majority.

Mr. Modi trained his guns solely on the Congress, choosing not to even mention the Janata Dal (Secular). “The Congress is capable of stopping only the progress of this country and not terrorism and naxalism,” he alleged.

Taking an obvious dig at Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi, he said that the Congress workers do not even consider the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the leader of this country.

There was a perceptible drop in the cheering as Mr. Modi offered a few words of encouragement to the party’s candidate from Puttur Mallika Prasad. In fact some stray individuals even made negative gestures and booed the mention of her name. Much to the annoyance of senior party functionaries such as K. Ram Bhat, who did not turn up for the event, Ms. Prasad was given the party ticket ignoring the previous MLA Shakuntala Shetty.

Staff Correspondent reports from Udupi:

Addressing a rally in Karkala in Udupi district, Mr. Modi said only a BJP government could speed up development, curb inflation, stop suicide of farmers, and rein in terrorist and naxalite activities in Karnataka. He was speaking at the election campaign meeting of the BJP here.

Mr. Modi said that entire country was lauding Gujarat for the rapid strides it had made in all fields. This was because Gujarat had enjoyed political stability. Karnataka was lagging behind in terms of development as it had no political stability. “People of Karnataka should give an opportunity to the BJP and its leader B.S. Yeddyurappa to change this situation. The BJP will give political stability,” he said.

He said terrorism had now spread its tentacles to Karnataka. The Congress-led Government at Centre was soft on terrorism. Karnataka was also suffering from naxalite problem.

He said that election surveys and political pundits would always predict a hung Assembly in Karnataka. This was a systematic attempt to create confusion in the minds of the voters.

“People should not believe in these surveys which are done with ulterior motives”, Mr. Modi said.

President of State unit of BJP D.V. Sadananda Gowda, former Minister Dhananjay Kumar, BJP leaders Sunil Kumar, Raghupati Bhat, Lalji Mendon, Jagadish Adhikari, V.S. Acharya and K.P. Shenoy, were present.

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