Davangere: In yet another attack on the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called it a "seeda rupaiya sarkar" (money first) while campaigning in the poll-bound southern state currently ruled by Congress.
"You have such a Chief Minister here. Some people feel that in Karnataka there is Siddaramaiah government. But the fact is here there is 'seeda rupaiya' sarkar. In every thing there is seeda Rupaiya, only then work happens," he said.
Some people believe that there is Siddaramaiah governance in #Karnataka, but in reality, it is 'Seedha Rupaiyya' governance. Har cheej mein 'Seedha Rupaiyya' hota hai, tabhi kaam hota hai. Ye 'Seedha Rupaiyya' jaana chahiye: PM Modi in Davanagere #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/9XHxIPpb5B
— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2018
The Prime Minister made the critical remarks on the Congress government alleging widespread corruption and said that it should not be allowed to continue "even for a minute."
PM Modi, who has been accusing the state government of corruption, intensified his attack on his third visit in less than a month to the poll-bound Karnataka, saying there was public anger against the regime.
"It is now certain that this Karnataka government will go," he said while addressing a BJP farmers' rally here.
In Davangere, PM Modi said that everything was being done for a price in Karnataka.
Dubbing the Siddaramaiah government as "a seeda rupaiya sarkar", he asked the crowd whether they wanted such a government.
"You tell me do you want this 'seeda rupaiya' culture? Do you want seeda rupaiya kaarnaama? Will a common man get justice only from this seeda rupaiya?" he asked.
"This seeda rupaiya government has to go," Modi said, adding, there should be an honest government in Karnataka.
"That is the reason now, that in Karnataka instead of seeda rupaiya business there should be a government that listens to its people and does their work," he told the gathering.
PM Modi also blamed the Congress culture for the ills facing the country and said the situation had now come to such pass that because of the "weight of their own sins, let alone Karnataka, they will not be able to save the Congress."
"I have travelled to a couple of places in the state. I have seen the mood of the people. I have seen the anger against this government. Everyone is worried about this government. There is such anger against this government... such governments are very less," he said.
The rally in the Lingayat belt here was organised to coincide with the 75th birthday of state BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa, who is being projected as the party's chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming assembly polls.
With the Prime Minister himself in attendance, the rally was also seen as an attempt by the BJP to set at rest any doubts about the choice of Yeddyurappa, a Lingayat strongman, for the chief ministership in the event of BJP winning the polls.
The Lingayat community forms a strong voter base for the BJP.
The saffron party is seeking to unseat the Congress with its 150-plus seats target in the 224-member assembly, polling for which is expected to be held in coming April or May.
In his previous rallies, Modi had called the Siddaramaiah dispensation "a 10 percent commission government" and later said his information was not correct and came to know that it was much more.
Hitting back at the Prime Minister, Siddaramaiah had last week charged him with being 'the great facilitator of corruption' while referring to the two billion dollar Punjab National Bank scam allegedly involving diamond businessman Nirav Modi.
