Mandya, Aug 20 (DHNS) : Housing Minister Ambareesh on Monday stoked a controversy by describing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as “the Narendra Modi of the Congress.”
He was addressing a meeting ahead of the by-election to the Mandya Lok Sabha seat and the Mysore-Chamarajanagar Council seat in the town.
The actor-turned-politician said the chief minister was “taking the State on the path of development” like his Gujarat counterpart. He told the audience that Siddaramaiah had undertaken a number of development works in just three months of assuming office. Much more could be expected from him in the days to come, Ambareesh said.
The BJP, which has virtually made Modi its prime ministerial candidate, has lapped up Ambareesh’s remark. In a statement in Bangalore, the party said it was happy that the Congress finally recognised the immense popularity Modi “enjoys because of his development model.”
BJP State media in-charge S Prakash said: “We welcome the comparison by the minister, which proves the positive impact Modi has had even on the Congress ministers.”
Prakash said Ambareesh was gracious enough to “accept Modi as his icon,” while his party’s national leadership was busy showering abuses on the popular leader.
“Modi today inspires even Congressmen through his development agenda. It is heartening to note that more and more Congressmen are speaking in favour. We hope that the Congress high command will desist from initiating disciplinary action against the minister,” Prakash added.