Karnataka election to decide the fate of the state, says Modi ; It's a battle of ideology, Rahul Gandhi

According to media reports, while Modi, with his blasting rhetoric, sought to make mincemeat of the Congress, raising the issues of  nationalism, corruption and performance, Gandhi gave a call for ideological battle and kept asking uncomfortable questions despite all the jibes aimed at him.

The PM held rallies in Gulbarga, Bellary and Bengaluru and the Congress chief  in Bidar district.

Modi, whose offensive was to take guard of  the defence the opposition has targeted to punch a hole,  sought to turn the heat on the Congress on issues like the plight of farmers and Dalits and accused it of floating "lies." 

He also maintained that the Congress is a party indulging in corruption as "not even a single work is possible without corruption and bribery" and called the Karnataka Government "Sidda-rupaiya" because "you need to pay for the smallest of works."

"Press on the lotus symbol on May 12 and we will give you an account for every penny spent", Modi said.

He accused the Congress of sitting tight over the Saminathan Commission report that recommended ways to uplift the condition of farmers.

The PM also reiterated his party's oft-repeated allegation that Congress had disrepcted the sacrifices of soldiers by questioning the veracity of surgical strike.

"My job is to worry for the farmers ...for several years, Congress government tried to hide the Swaminathan Comission report in the cupboard," he said.

"You may not be able to speak the truth, but at least you can keep quiet, " Modi said. 

Modi's reference to Swaminathan report was in response to the Congress effort to build up a movement cashing in on the series of suicides by farmers and the woes they have been facing because of drought, heavy loan burden and lack of adequate government support.

The PM also  said in Karnataka the Congress has let down the Dalits by not choosing someone from the community as its Chief Ministerial candidate.

Modi said the coming election in the state will decide the future of Karnataka. "It is about security of women, the development of farmers. Do not assume this is only about electing MLAs, it is much more than that."

Gandhi, on the other hand, made a counter attack on most of the issues Modi raised and told him that making personal attacks would not stop him from asking questions.

"PM Modi resorts to personal attacks and character assassination when he's desperate. I never resort to personal attacks. Instead, I ask questions. Questions PM Modi doesn't answer."

"You made fun of me but you have still not answered my questions. Why you were you silent when Nirav Modi ran away? You did not answer about BS Yeddyurappa, who is a corrupt man and your chief minister candidate," he said.

Gandhi also alleged that the BJP is forcing the RSS ideology down the throat of the people irrespective of cultural

"Congress ideology is on unity, poor friendly, other hand its RSS BJP Yedurappa Modi who want to force the ideology of RSS on people. They dont know about Karnataka culture identity. They only want to propagate ideology of RSS. Modiji talks about Basavanna, but he knows nothing about him,"the Congress chief said.

"This election is a contest between two ideologies. On one hand, there's Congress with its ideology of unity, compassion & an inclusive Karnataka while on the other, we have BJP-RSS with its ideology of hatred and division, Gandhi said.

Gandhi also raised questions about the business deals of Bharatiya Janata Party National President Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah. “While the poor people of the country stood in queues and went through troubles post demonetisation, the likes of ‘Chhota Modi’ looted people’s money and escaped,” Gandhi said, referring to Nirav Modi.

He asked the PM  why he shared the stage with the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, BS Yeddyurappa, even though he spoke of fighting corruption. Yeddyurappa’s previous tenure at the helm of the state was marred by allegations of corruption.

The Congress president accused the central government of destroying small businesses by implementing the Goods and Services Tax, or the Gabbar Singh Tax as he calls it.

“In the movie Sholay, there was Gabbar Singh, you brought the Gabbar Singh Tax but now you gone even further,” the Hindustan Times quoted Gandhi as saying. “Now you are trying to put the entire Gabbar Singh team in the Karnataka Assembly...Gabbar is there, Samba is there, Kalia is also there...the entire gang of Reddy brothers, who were in jail, you are trying to place them in the Assembly.”

Gandhi said that the media was also crumbling under the BJP’s pressure. “We must all stand firmly behind journalists who are still doing their difficult jobs in this stifling atmosphere of fear, threat and intimidation.”

Image of Rahul Gandhi: twitter.com/RahulGandhi