BJP celebrates 1,000 days of rule in Karnataka

BANGALORE - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday organized a large rally here to celebrate 1,000 days in power in Karnataka, its first government in south India. The Congress held another rally in Mysore against alleged corruption and misrule of the ruling party.

Addressing the BJP rally, party president Nitin Gadkari lashed out at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in New Delhi saying it had failed on fronts - price, national security, curbing corruption and bringing unaccounted money stashed in foreign banks.

He asserted that BJP was not against any community or religion.

“Ours is not a party built on the basis of caste, religion, language or region,” he told thousands of party workers from across Karnataka gathered at the Palace Grounds in north Bangalore.

State party leaders claimed around 250,000 people attended the “thanksgiving for voters, congratulations for the workers” rally for bringing BJP to power in the state in May 2008.

The Congress, the main opposition in the state, organized a ‘Nada Rakshana (protecting the state from BJP) rally in Mysore, about 140 km from Bangalore, against alleged corruption of the state government led by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.

It was addressed by state Congress president G. Parameshwara, union Labour Minister Mallikharjun Kharge and other leaders who claimed that BJP rule in the state was numbered.

In his address to BJP workers, Gadkari ridiculed Congress as a party of ‘mother and son’ and the Janata Dal-Secular headed by former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda as ‘father and sons party’.

“The post of president of Congress party is reserved for one family,” he said.

Gadkari said the UPA government was “weak and not capable of defending national interests. China was building roads and airport in occupied Kashmir and this government was not doing anything”.

The Congress was indulging in vote bank politics, he charged.

“That was the reason why the death sentence against Afzal Guru (parliament attack convict) has not been carried out in spite of the Supreme Court upholding the sentence.”

He praised the party’s government in Karnataka for the development work it was implementing and plans to offer loans to farmers at one percent per year interest rate.

The BJP rally was also addressed party general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Dharmendra Pradhan, Yeddyurappa, state BJP chief K.S. Eshwarappa and several state ministers.