Davanagere, August 03: The Congress high command has successfully managed to send a message of unity to the people of Karnataka through the mega celebration of Opposition leader Siddaramaiah’s 75th birthday on Wednesday August 3.
Siddaramaiah and party state president DK Shivakumar, vying to project themselves as the party’s CM face so far, declared on the stage that they are united against the BJP and will work towards ensuring a Congress victory in the upcoming assembly elections.
Speaking at the mega event to celebrate his birthday, Siddaramaiah asserted that the talk that there is a rift between him and Shivakumar is an “illusion and creation” of opposition parties. “Shivakumar and I are together. There is no difference of opinion among us”, he said. Shivakumar, in his speech, said the Congress has decided to fight the Assembly elections under collective leadership.
Siddaramaiah in his speech went on to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi that, “Mr Modi and BJP, you can’t finish off the Congress party and people will not allow you to change the Constitution of the country.”
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who came to Karnataka to attend the birthday bash of Siddaramaiah, praised both the leaders and expressed his happiness over the gesture of Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah to embrace each other on the stage. “Today, I was happy to see Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar hugging each other on the stage”, Rahul Gandhi said at the event after Shivakumar felicitated Siddaramaiah, a former Chief Minister, on his 75th birthday and hugged him in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi stated that he shares a special relationship with Siddaramaiah and that’s why he came to attend the celebrations. “I don’t generally go to birthday celebrations,” he said. “Of course I like Siddaramaiah Ji. I also share his views, I share his compassion for the poor and the weak. I also appreciate the way Siddaramaiah ran the last government in Karnataka. It gave direction to the people of the state. It had a vision for Karnataka.”
Gandhi said Shivakumar has done tremendous work for the Congress organisation.
Virtually sounding the poll bugle, he said: “The Congress party is completely united to defeat BJP and RSS in Karnataka”. When the Congress comes to power, it will give a “clean and honest” government which will work for the future of the state and it will not spread hatred, Gandhi said.
Referring to three murders with alleged communal overtones in the coastal region of the State in the last few days, he said such type of violence had not taken place in Karnataka in the past. “When we ask people in the United States what do they think of Karnataka today, they will say to you that Karnataka never witnessed the type of violence it is facing today”, he said. “They will say to you that when Congress was in power, Karnataka was in harmony”, Gandhi added. Greeting Siddaramaiah on his birthday, he said: “He is one person who looks younger as he grows older”.
Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi was stuck in traffic briefly as lakhs of people descended on the roads for the celebrations in Davanagere district of the state.
