The ruling Congress in Karnataka today invoked Kannada pride to hit back at Narendra Modi for dubbing the Siddaramaiah government as 'seedha rupaiyya sarkar' (money first) accusing the prime minister of using "cheap language".
The prime minister was not talking about the "robbery of Rs 30,000 crore" in the Punjab National Bank case and had not spoken a word about billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi, state Congress working president Dinesh Gundu Rao told reporters here.
"Modi is not ready to accept his failure as prime minister. By using cheap language, the prime minister is insulting Kannadigas repeatedly," he said.
He redefined NaMo (Narendra Modi) as 'Namage Mosa' which means "we have been cheated" in Kannada.
Tearing into the Siddaramaiah government at a farmers' rally at Davangere yesterday, Modi had dubbed it a "seedha rupaiya sarkar", a reference to corruption, and said it should not be allowed to continue "even for a minute".
Hitting back at Modi, Rao alleged, "The man who did corruption using cheques is Yeddyurappa. "
"You failed to appoint Lokpal at the Centre even after four years. You also failed to curb robbery of banks," he said.
Not even a "penny of black money" from abroad could be brought even after four years, he said.
"Now, here you talk so cheap in Karnataka. You have compelled us to redefine NaMo as Namage Mosa," the Congress leader said.
Rao said demonetisation of currency notes and banks becoming bankrupt today show that the people of the country had been cheated.
The BJP and the Congress are locked in a slugfest over the issue of corruption in poll-bound Karnataka.
After Modi's "seedha rupaiya sarkar" jibe, Congress communications chief Randeep Singh Surjewala used the prime minister's remark made years ago to target him over his silence on the PNB scam, asking him to turn from "maun (silent) Modi to bol (speaking) Modi".
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