BJP lawmakers on Friday objected to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s reference to Adolf Hitler in the Legislative Assembly as they took it as a jab at their party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In response to the motion of thanks in the Governor’s address in the Upper House, Siddaramaiah referred to Hitler.
Siddaramaiah was trying to explain the essence of humanity.
“We should not build walls between people. The caste system is vertical; above is superior. This was Hitler’s undoing,” Siddaramaiah said. “Hitler said Germans were the most advanced and Jews were the worst. Finally, he committed suicide,” he said.
What irked BJP legislators was Siddaramaiah’s attempt to draw a parallel. “These BJP people… I have told them several times… don’t do all this, you are superior and your religion is superior. All religions are equal. Because we have a vertical society, Basavanna tried to create. A horizontal society,” he said. .
BJP MLC YA Narayanaswamy hit back at Siddaramaiah citing the state of emergency. “The prime minister spoke of Hitler. I want to remind you that it was the prime minister of your party who insulted the constitution. You know what happened. So, don’t promote us,” he said.
Referring to Hitler, Siddaramaiah went up to ask what was his problem. “Why do you (BJP) get angry when I talk about Hitler?” she said.
BJP’s Bharti Shetty said, “You are our Chief Minister. So talk like one. How can we tolerate when you talk like Hitler?”
Senior BJP MLC Kota Srinivas Pujari tried to discredit Siddaramaiah’s secular credentials. “The chief minister says he is secular and accepts a specific color cap. But he refuses to wear a saffron bandana,” he said.
During the debate, Siddaramaiah said that Prime Minister Modi’s popularity is declining. “Karnataka election was the best example of that. PM visited the state 28 times. What were the results? I would still advise BJP to stop relying on Modi,” he said.
BJP members denied Siddaramaiah’s claim. The chief minister replied: “I agree that he is the tallest leader. What I meant is that his popularity is waning.”
Siddaramaiah spoke for more than three hours amid repeated interruptions by the BJP. Agitated by Siddaramaiah’s frequent attacks on the central government, BJP MLCs walked out, accusing the government of using the governor’s speech to insult the Modi administration.
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