Thief tag more appropriate for Rahul Gandhi & Co, says N. Ravi Kumar

Kalaburagi: Expressing his resentment over Congress President Rahul Gandhi terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a 'thief,' State BJP General Secretary N. Ravi Kumar remarked that the tag of thief was more appropriate for Mr Gandhi and his party leaders as they had looted the country of Rs 12.5 lakh crores through various means when they were in power for ten years from 2004 to 2014. Speaking at a press meet here on Tuesday, Mr Kumar recalled that the Supreme Court had already ruled that no irregularities have taken place in the Rafale fighter jet deal. "Both Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader in the Lok?Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge should take back their words if they have respect for the Apex Court and faith in the Constitution", he said.

The BJP leader went on to describe Chief Minister H.D.?Kumaraswamy as the "champion of lies" as he had failed to fulfil the promise of waiving off farm loans to the tune of Rs 48,000 crore. "He said he would announce the sweet news on the eve of Diwali. Now he says he needs time and data needs to be collected. So far he has waived off Rs 4,600 crore of loans only. However, the prime minister has implemented a permanent scheme to credit Rs 6,000 to the bank accounts of about 12 crore farmers in the country. The scheme will be in force until the farmer is alive", he explained. Clarifying that Dr Umesh Jadhav is the consensus candidate of the BJP against Mr Mallikarjun Kharge in Kalaburagi, Mr Ravikumar said he was hopeful Dr Jadhav's resignation as MLA would be accepted.