Hubballi, Nov 2 (IANS): Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Saturday asked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ‘to hold his tongue’, after his (Siddaramaiah) remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the guarantee schemes.
“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lacks basic culture. Addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi derogatively as ‘pudari’ (a petty local politician indulging in politicking) shows his indecency and lack of culture,” the Union Minister said.
He added that the desperateness of the Congress party is evident. “Siddaramaiah at least mind your language. I am clearly telling him (CM Siddaramaiah) to hold his tongue,” Joshi stated.
He added that Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had stated that he would revise the guarantee scheme, adding that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also stated that they should not promise what is not possible to deliver.
“In Himachal Pradesh, the state is facing bankruptcy. The government workers are not given salaries, retirees are not getting pensions. Amid all this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a realistic analysis. If there were to be any objections, it could have been clarified with courtesy,” he said.
He said that even Congress MLAs have made statements against guarantees, adding that Siddaramaiah’s economic advisor Basavaraj Rayareddy had made a statement while B.R. Patil, another advisor to the Siddaramaiah, had passed on similar remarks.
“Congress MLA Raju Kage has also talked about. How many names of the MLAs should I take? Your own people are talking about unrealistic schemes. When the PM raises questions, you should answer them decently,” he said.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has only reiterated the reality of what was spoken by the AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge. Kharge has stated that the government should not promise what is not in the budget, Joshi stated.
Earlier, Siddaramaiah said that it’s disappointing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, instead of acknowledging Karnataka's progress and the success of our guarantee schemes that are boosting the state’s economy, is disrespecting Karnataka and Kannadigas with false accusations and "behaving like a petty politician".
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi should leave behind his habit of viewing everything through the party's political lens and try to understand Karnataka's development model from the perspective of a statesman. I challenge him to join an open debate on the promises made in his manifesto for the last two parliamentary elections," said Siddaramaiah.