By Gururaj A Paniyadi

Copyright deccanchronicle

Kalaburagi: Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge on Monday hit out at the BJP’s recent ‘Dharmasthala Chalo’ and ‘Maddur Chalo’ programmes, questioning what the saffron party was trying to achieve through such mobilisations. “What do they want to achieve? Do they want to turn Karnataka into Uttar Pradesh and Bihar?” Kharge asked, pointing out that leaders such as CT Ravi and Pratap Simha had not sent their own children to take part in such campaigns. “Have they told their children to raise slogans like ‘cut head’ or ‘break leg’? Have they given them weapons and asked them to dance in front of mosques?” he charged. Accusing the BJP of fuelling unrest, Kharge said, “They are busy with ‘Dharmasthala Chalo’ for four days, ‘Maddur Chalo’ for two days and ‘Chamundeshwari Chalo’ for four days. They only rush to places where there is a communal issue, conflict or death, to make politics out of it.” On the India–Pakistan cricket match, the Minister said that while families of martyrs had opposed the game, the BJP had failed to prevent it. “Other countries have boycotted major sporting events, including the Olympics, on principle. Is BCCI bigger than the government? Does the Prime Minister not have the courage to act?” he asked. Taking aim at the BJP’s claims of nationalism, Kharge remarked, “They preach patriotism to the poor, but when it comes to foreign policy, they shake hands with Donald Trump and then with the Chinese Premier. What happened to their so-called deshbhakti?”