Siddu not an Ahinda but an Ahindu' leader, says Amit Shah

Davanagere: In a stinging attack on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the Lingayat/Veerashaiva issue, BJP  president, Amit Shah on Tuesday said he was not an AHINDA, but an AHINDU leader, who tried to divide people on religious lines.

“On the one hand, Congress president, Rahul Gandhi wants to unify Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and Christians. But his CM goes on dividing people on religion and community lines. No party can witness such a contrast in views. If Mr Siddaramaiah is not stopped, the Congress  may have to pay a heavy price,'' he warned, speaking to reporters here.

Contending that the Congress was not interested in either Lingayats or Veerashaivas and after the elections, would see it as a non- issue,  Mr Shah demanded, " If he was so serious about granting special status to Lingayats, what was Mr Siddaramaiah doing for the last four years? Where was he when his own government rejected the proposal way back in 2013?"

He continued, "First, Mr Siddaramaiah tried to take over mutts. And when he met with strong opposition, he resorted to dividing the Lingayat community. The Lingayats will see through the ploy to stop Mr Yeddyurappa from becoming CM again and will give a fitting reply to the Congress via the ballot paper.''

Recalling his visit to house of  Nandita, whose death had led to a love jihad controversy in Thirthahalli last year, Mr Shah said  the girl's story was heartrending. "She was kidnapped and thrown out of a moving car when she raised an alarm. Later, her parents were threatened, forcing the girl to commit suicide. Instead of standing by the victims, the police took the side of the culprits. Nandita will get justice when the Yeddyurappa government comes to power.'

Charging that SDPI and PFI had a free run while Hindu activists were "slaughtered,"he said when the Centre wanted to ban PFI,  the Siddaramaiah government protected it. 

BJP prez builds bonds with fistful of rice

Davanagere, March 27: He was clearly out on a mission to reach out to the farmers of Karnataka. And losing no time BJP national president, Amit Shah painted the state's  Congress government in the worst possible light while eulogising his party's contribution to the welfare of farmers here on Tuesday.

Coming down hard on the Siddaramaiah government over the suicide of farmers in Karnataka, he said  BJP- ruled states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh had in contrast recorded the lowest number of farmer suicides in the country.

"Besides, in Maharashtra, where the Congress was thrown out three years ago, the number of farmer suicides has come down by over 30 per cent. Farmer suicides go up in  states where the Congress comes to power. In Karntaka over 3500 farmers have committed suicide in Karnataka over the last four years. The only reason for a farmer to commit suicide is government's apathy. By contrast, the agriculture GDP of BJP- ruled states is always  in double digit or more," he added. 

The BJP national president, who was participating in  his party's 'Mushti Dhanya Abhiyana' a movement to collect a fistful of grains from farmers, in Doddabaathi village,  maintained  the Modi government had several pro-farmer policies and on assessing the base price of agriculture production, would soon announce crop loss compensation of one- and- a- half times the production cost. 

He revealed a Rs 500 crore R and D centre was on the anvil  to disseminate information about health issues caused by consumption of arecanut and coffee, and another  R and D Centre was in the offing to work on diseases afflicting  the coconut crop. 

As for the grains collected as part of the movement, he said it would be cooked in temples and consumed by  BJP workers "making them farmers too," clearly trying to strike an emotional chord with the villagers present.   

Mr Amit Shah had an unexpected encounter with "Mr Modi," on his visit to Doddabaathi village. 

To his amusement he learnt that a gram panchayat member and hardcore fan of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi,  N U Umesh had named his three -and- a- half year old, son  Mr N U Modi.