Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday sounded the poll bugle in Karnataka and said the ruling Congress was on the cusp of being ousted from the state.
Reiterating the BJP catchphrase of a "Congress-free India", PM Modi said: "The Congress is standing on the exit door and Karnataka will soon be free from Congress culture."
The Prime Minister was addressing a public meeting at Palace Grounds, Bengaluru to top off the BJP's 90-day rally, called "journey to build a new Karnataka", across the poll-bound state.
Hitting back at PM Modi for his blistering attack on the Karnataka government, the ruling Congress on Sunday alleged that the BJP was peddling lies to "cheat" the people of the state.
The Congress questioned the Prime Minister's silence on the Mahadayi river dispute during his hour-long address, despite CM Siddaramaiah requesting his intervention to resolve the matter.
"Mr Modi, in your hour long speech, why did you maintain your 'maun' on Mahadayi? BJP continues to cheat the people of Karnataka," tweeted the official handle of the Karnataka Congress with the hashtag 'Modi lies'.
The Congress gave it back to the PM and pointed out that contrary to his claims about deteriorating law and order in Karnataka, it is BJP-ruled states that have the highest crime rate.
"Bengaluru is known as a Dynamic City worldwide. But Modi accuses Karnataka of having a Law & Order issue. Does he know that Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, both ruled by BJP, have the highest occurrences of crime in India?" said the party.
Taking a dig at the discrepancy in amount of funding the Modi government gave to Karnataka, the ruling party said: "'Shah of Lies' Amit Shah says Rs. 3 lakh crore. #ModiLies and says Rs 2 lakh crore. Looks like these two can't even agree on a 'FAKE' figure!"
CM Siddaramaiah, too, accused the saffron party of spreading lies and indulging only in criticising others.
"They do not know anything else. Lying and criticising are the qualities they have imbibed, because they are not pro-people," he said.
He trained his guns on BJP president Amit Shah, and accused him of instigating communal tension in the poll-bound state.
"I will not say that (Narendra) Modi will come and instigate to do it, but Amit Shah...that is his standard. He doesn't know anything other than that. He feels it is (political) tactics," the chief minister charged.
Siddaramaiah also asserted that Modi's visit or the rally would have no implications in Karnataka, where assembly elections are due to be held in April-May.
During his rally in Bengaluru, PM Modi said the countdown for the Congress government's exit from Karnataka has already begun with a "saffron wave" in the state.
He urged the people to throw the "corrupt and dynastic" Congress out of power in the state assembly elections, as the country did not need it's culture anymore.
"India does not need Congress culture anymore as it has ruined the nation. If corruption has to end, the state has to be made Congress-free," he said.
While referring to the law and order situation, Modi said, "In the whole world there is discussion about ease of doing business, but with the Congress government in Karnataka, here there are discussions regarding ease of doing murders."
He said the BJP government would take the state in the direction of progress with the motto "Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas".
Redefining the meaning of 'TOP' priority, the Prime Minister expanded on how the NDA government will improve the living conditions of farmers.
"Farmers producing fruits and vegetables are our 'TOP' priority. 'TOP' means 'Tomato, Onion and Potato'. We have launched 'Operation green' in interest of these farmers. 'Operation green' would be beneficial for farmers just like the Amul model was successful in dairy," he said.
Modi's TOP comment earned the scorn of Karnataka Congress leader Karnataka leader Ramya, who tweted, "Is this what happens when you're on POT?"
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