Belagavi, Dec 4 (IANS): Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka has criticized Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for embracing Tipu Sultan and celebrating him, even after his Congress party was defeated in three state assembly polls.
Speaking to reporters at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi, Ashoka asserted that these assembly polls were considered as semi-finals for the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP won in three states, and the party gained three times the number of seats in another state.
Ashoka referred to a tweet from a central leader of the Congress who attributed his party's defeat to the criticism of Sanatana dharma. Despite this setback, CM Siddaramaiah continues to hold on to Tipu Sultan and glorify him, according to Ashoka.
Tipu Sultan was the erstwhile ruler of Mysuru kingdom in south Karnataka. The BJP maintains that he carried out mass conversions to Islam with brutality. The Congress refuses to accept the theory and celebrates him as a martyr who fought against the British.
Ashoka urged the Congress to learn from this defeat, pointing out that while it had earlier won in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, it has now lost all these states. He criticized the Congress for emphasizing its victory in Telangana while remaining silent about the defeats.
Ashoka attributed the Congress's success in Telangana to factors such as anti-incumbency, former CM K. Chandrashekar Rao's absence from the assembly, and family politics. He claimed that the lack of charisma and the little impact of its guarantee schemes were the reasons for the Congress's defeat.
According to Ashoka, people believe that the future belongs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He stated that people across the country trust PM Modi to ensure development and make India a Vishwaguru.
The message conveyed by these states, as per Ashoka, is that the country and religion are secure in the hands of PM Modi. He predicted a resounding victory for the BJP in the upcoming parliamentary elections, with Modi becoming the Prime Minister once again.