BJP is in power in Karnataka, the only state in South India. By visiting the state twice in the last seven days, Narendra Modi showed how desperate the party is to retain power in the state, which will hold elections in four months. “Our aim is to develop the areas which the previous government had marked as underdeveloped,” Modi said while laying the foundation stone for several public projects worth several thousand crore rupees for Kalburgi and Yadgiri areas in poll-bound Karnataka yesterday.
On the other hand, in the recently concluded meeting of the National Action Committee, the Prime Minister stressed on refraining from making unnecessary comments about films and bringing all religions and classes together to increase public support. According to sources, apart from stressing on ending the religious controversy over the film ‘Pathan’, Modi has also stressed on reaching out to minorities, conducting Sufi music concerts in their respective areas of parliament leaders. It is recommended to attend various church functions to convey the message of being with Christians.
Likewise, the Prime Minister emphasized to be present in the functions of the Valmiki Samaj, a backward Hindu community. Similarly, by attending various universities, he emphasized on increasing communication with the students through debates and various programs there. The aim is to increase the population base among all sections of the society. Seeing such initiatives just before the polls, the Congress party made the sarcasm that the BJP top leadership understands that only the Hindutva agenda will not bring votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The question has been raised, why the effort to reach all levels of people has not been seen by the Prime Minister or his party for all these days!
Announcement of Central government schemes
Yesterday, Modi went on a one-day visit to Karnataka and announced several central government schemes. According to BJP sources, people are angry about the lack of competent leadership, clan feuds, various corruptions in Karnataka over the question of retaining the government. On the occasion of which, in the last few years, the Congress is hopeful that the BJP will face a counter-challenge by increasing its power at the grassroots level in that state. On the other hand, BJP’s big problem in Karnataka is the lack of popular leaders. Speculations have started – Will Yediyurappa, the four-time chief minister, be made the chief minister after removing Basavaraj Bommai? Yediyurappa claimed that he requested the Prime Minister to give more time for Karnataka before the polls.
The Prime Minister targeted the Congress by inaugurating and laying foundation stones of several projects in Kalburgi and Yadgiri. Said, “Yadgiri has been included in the list of aspirational districts. Because our party’s objective is development. Not vote bank.”
Deprivation of freedom in the name of sorting out fake news
The Congress and the Editor’s Guild of India have come out against a draft proposal by the Narendra Modi government which says that all non-government news organisations will have to remove a news right after the central government’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) declares that news published on social media as fake news.