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In a blistering attack on the Congress during his last campaign rally ahead of the May 10 Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the party of openly advocating for "separating" Karnataka from India.
He alleged that the "disease" of the "tukde-tukde gang" had reached the Congress's top level.
"When it comes to working against India's interests, Congress's 'royal family' will be at the forefront. I want to speak about a serious issue here, I want to say it as there is a lot of pain in my heart. This country can never forgive such a game. This family, to influence the politics in the country, is encouraging foreign forces to interfere," Modi claimed.
Addressing the public meeting here in Mysuru district, he accused Congress leaders of secretly meeting foreign diplomats who hate India, repeatedly indulging in activities that insult India's sovereignty and said they were not ashamed of it.
Stating that in this Karnataka election, Congress's 'shahi parivar' had gone a step ahead "breaking all the limits and crushing the feelings of the country", Modi said, "not only Karnataka, I want to tell this to the entire country with lot of pain that in this election Congress's 'shahi parivar' yesterday came to Karnataka and said that they want to protect the "sovereignty" of Karnataka.
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"Karnataka's sovereignty, you know what is the meaning of it? They have sat in Parliament for so many years, they have taken oath on India's Constitution, and they say this... When a country becomes independent that country is called a sovereign country. The meaning of what Congress is saying is that the Congress believes that Karnataka is separate from India," he said, without taking any names.
Asking people whether they approved of it and whether they would punish the Congress for such a statement, the Prime Minister said, it meant that the Congress was openly advocating for separating Karnataka from India.
"I had never thought that the disease of the tukde-tukde gang would reach the Congress's top level," he said, accusing the party of insulting Kannada fighters who fought for India's independence and insulting the patriotism of crores of Kannadigas.
Noting that this was the land where 'Rashtra Kavi' Kuvempu had said Karnataka was an integral part of India with the lines in the state anthem, "Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate Jaya he Karnataka Maate", Modi said, "For every Kannadiga, Karnataka is a mother and she has been described as the daughter of 'Bharat ma'. I can feel the feelings of Kannadigas."
Insulting the feelings of Karnataka was like insulting the "culture and pride" of the state, he added.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
