Bengaluru: Picture of prominent BJP leaders standing behind the barricade with common people and waving at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) headquarters in Bengaluru on Saturday, has gone viral on social media.
The Karnataka Congress unit has called it the height of slavery from the side of state BJP leaders and the dictatorship of PM Modi.
Congress leader Ramesh Babu stated that BJP leaders were made to stand like ‘street dogs’ during the visit of PM Modi to ISRO.
Karnataka BJP Unit President Nalin Kumar Kateel, former ministers and MLAs R. Ashoka, K. Gopalaiah, N. Muniratna and others were seen in a picture waving at PM Modi when he passed through to reach the ISRO.
MLA Muniratna and other BJP leaders stood at the barricade to greet Modi.
“BJP’s state President, sitting MLAs and former ministers are made to stand on the streets. They are first victims of dictatorship… Doesn’t this also mean that the BJP leaders who are waving at PM Modi without self-esteem and self-respect have reached the heights of slavery?”, said Karnataka Congress.
The picture went viral on social media and BJP leaders are finding it difficult to digest the jibes.
Sources said that PM Modi is still upset about the debacle of assembly elections and that he does not want to meet any of the leaders from the state BJP unit. None was allowed to welcome him at the HAL airport in Bengaluru, the sourced added.
Former Minister R. Ashoka had announced before the media that PM Modi would participate in a mega roadshow after his arrival in Bengaluru. However, the PM has cancelled the roadshow to the much chagrin of state leadership.
BJP high command is not entertaining the demands of state leaders to appoint the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly. Congress is taking potshots at BJP for its inability to appoint an opposition leader.
Moreover, Ashoka criticised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Dy CM Shivakumar for not going to welcome PM Modi.
Slamming him, Shivakumar chided that, with his statement, it is evident that the PM’s office and central government care a damn about him. He challenged Ashoka to get information from the PMO and then react. “We did not go to receive as per the message from the PMO,” he said.
With agency inputs