The elections are going to take place in Karnataka on 12th May and results will be out by 15th May. Both the parties Congress and BJP did campaigning in a very aggressive manner and some personal attacks were also made. PM Modi attended numerous public rallies and many times he tore apart the Congress party and its President Rahul Gandhi.
Once during an election rally, PM Modi challenged Rahul Gandhi and said,
“Speak for 15 minutes on the achievements of the Congress government – in Hindi, English or your mother’s mother-tongue.”
Rahul Gandhi has also responded to this jibe that is taken at his mother’s origin.
While attending a press conference in Bengaluru on the last day of campaigning, he said that his mother “is more Indian than many Indians I have seen”.
Karnataka elections are very important for Congress as it is the last major state where it has its government and the party won’t like to lose it at any cost.
In response to the question in which he was asked his view point on the personal attacks made by PM Modi on his mother’s origin, he said,
“My mother is Italian. She also lived a larger part of her life in India. She is more Indian than many, many Indians I see. She has sacrificed for this country, she has suffered for this country.”
He further added,
“It shows the quality of the Prime Minister when he makes these types of comments. It shows the quality of this man. And I’m happy to let him do so. If he enjoys himself, if he likes it, welcome. Have a nice day.”
When Rahul Gandhi was asked about the “Naamdaar (entitled)” comment, he gave a reference to Gautam Buddha’s story and how he reacted to an angry man. Buddha told his disciple,
“He got me the gift of anger, I didn’t want it, I didn’t take it.”
Rahul Gandhi further said,
“Mr Modi has anger inside him and he has got anger for everybody. Not only for me. I’m a lightning rod of that anger. I attract that anger because he sees a threat from me. But his anger is his problem. It’s not my problem. My problem is how to help the people of this country.”
Indicating towards BJP, he said, “they have realised that the Congress is doing things differently” and they are in a state of panic.
He also said,
“PM Modi likes to distract people. He has nothing to say to the people of Karnataka on their future. So he just distracts them. All these comments are made to distract the country from the important issues. This election is not about Rahul Gandhi. It’s about the future of Karnataka.”
While BJP alleged that Rahul Gandhi didn’t answer all the important questions, Piyush Goyal of BJP said,
“He skirted every single question in that press conference. He did not give any straight answer.”
What do you have to say in this connection? Let us know your views.