Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (DC)
Bengaluru, May 7: The Karnataka election battle has seen a number of non-Kannadiga star campaigners come to the state and do their best to woo the voters. The battle has ranged from hurling serious allegations to trolling each other.
In late March, Congress president Rahul Gandhi was trolled for mispronouncing the name of M Vishweshwaraiah. PM Modi and the BJP too had mocked him for his goof-up.
But now PM Modi himself became a victim of online troll and this time it is from chief minister Siddaramaiah for mispronouncing a Kannada word.
Addressing a rally in Bagalkot on Sunday May 6 had mispronounced the Kannada word 'Kudala Sangama' as 'Kundala Sangama'.
In a tweet Siddaramaiah said that Kannadigas were magnanimous to forgive even someone mis-pronounced Kannada words. "Shri @narendramodi avare, it is Kudala Sangama not Kundala Sangama. Mis-pronouncing a Kannada word is not a big deal. Kannadigas are magnanimous: they forgive you. But sad that you lack the heartedness of Kannadigas. You make speeches to laugh at others’ pronunciation," he tweeted.
Earlier Congress president Rahul Gandhi was trolled for mispronouncing Basavanna's Vachana 'Evanu Yarava' and also Vishveshwaraiah's name during a campaign rally.
All the political bigwigs who have camped in poll-bound Karnataka are trying to woo the electorate by speaking in regional language. But their attempts to speak in Kannada have given enough fodder to the ever-witty netizens to come up with hilarious captions which have subsequently gone viral.
Challenge to Yeddyurappa
Siddaramaiah once again targeted the BJP for its choice of chief ministerial candidate and its stand on corruption. In a series of tweets he asked BJP's clarification on various issues.
"PM Modi is deliberately confusing Karnataka voters with his bombastic speeches on non-issues. All hot air & no substance. My contest is not with him. It is with Yaddyurappa (sic)," he tweeted.
He added, "I challenge him to an open debate on issues on a single platform. Will he accept? Modi is also welcome!"
In a series of tweets, he gave five reasons why Karnataka should not vote for Yeddyurappa, and asked the BJP leader to give five reasons why people should.
"Let Yaddyurappa give Karnataka 5 reasons why they should vote him. Here are my 5 why they shouldn’t:
(Evidence will be prvided at the debate or put out in public domain)"
1.BJP ran the most corrupt govt (2008-13) in the history of the state. One CM & 5 Ministers went to jail.
2.BJP ran an unstable govt with 3 CMs in 5 years. MLAs were bought & sold under Operation Kamala. They were herded around from resort to resort. With most surveys giving BJP far less seats than what is need to form Govt, state will be back to the same situation.
3.BJP has no respect for freedom: freedom to live the life the way people want. Once in power they will impose a dress code, a food code, & a code on who you can love. Above all they will impose Hindi over Kannada.
4.BJP has no commitment to peace. If in power they will unleash communal elements on streets. Incidences like church attack, pub attack will come back. Cow vigilantes will be on streets. This is neither good for life nor for business. With disrupted business jobs will go
5.BJP does not keep the promises it makes. At the centre they promised 15 lakhs to everyone, jobs & economic growth. In practice they demonetised the economy & killed growth. There have been anti-farmer, anti-women, anti-youth, anti-Dalit, anti-minorities & anti-business."
He also took potshots at the BJP for its recent allegations that Siddaramaiah had shielded Vijay Eswaran - accused of duping several people via ponzi schemes. Siddaramaiah had allegedly met Eswaran in China during the World Economic Forum in 2013. In a tweet, Siddaramaiah said, "If BJP wants to go with this logic of using a photo to accuse me then it should also accuse PM Modi for his photo with Nirav Modi in Davos."
Tweet after tweet, Siddaramaiah has taken the Karnataka election battle to a whole new level, targeting PM Modi and the B S Yeddyurappa with his witticism and clever retorts.