Shettar shunted out of BJP as he is not corrupt, says Rahul

Hangal: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the BJP during a public meeting held at Hanagal in Haveri district on Monday evening. Addressing the crowd, Gandhi mocked the BJP for not giving a ticket to former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, stating that it was because he had not been involved in any corruption charges.

Gandhi stated that while Shettar was speaking, he was contemplating why had the senior leader not been given a ticket.

"Shettar's speech provided the answer as he mentioned that he had no charges against him and that there were no 'tapes' on him," Rahul said.

He used Shettar's answer to poke fun at the BJP, saying, "Now it is clear. Shettar did not take 40 percent (commission). So he cannot be in BJP, nor get a ticket or become a minister there."

“Modiji speaks of corruption and claims to be fighting against corruption. But now  non-corrupt Jagadish Shettar has been sent out. This means he is fighting for corruption,” he said.

Gandhi accused the BJP of corruption and claimed that the last government formed by the party was a "stolen government" that purchased MLAs with money to come to power. He urged voters to give the BJP only 40 seats in this election and ensure Congress victory with more than 150 seats, or else the BJP would again attempt to purchase MLAs.

Rahul also called for the release of the Caste Census data, demanding that Prime Minister Modi reveal the information. He pointed out that during the UPA government, a Caste Census was held and data on all castes was collected.

However, the data has not been made public, which Rahul claims is because Modi does not want to assist OBCs.

"Modiji should remove the 50% limit on the reservation and show that he is concerned about the OBC community. Until he reveals the caste census and removes the 50 percent limit on the reservation he should refrain from speaking about OBC community," he added.