Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah believes that the Assembly election in the State on May 12 is a battle between communalism and secularism, and will set the agenda for 2019.

In an interview, he said the Congress returning to power in Karnataka is imperative for the national political scene to change.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to make a series of visits to Karnataka in the last leg of the campaign, will not be able to sway the voters, he said.

“You cannot wave a magic wand and change things in an election,” he said, predicting a Congress victory and ruling out the possibility of a hung Assembly.

Accusing both Mr. Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah of making corruption allegations without substance, he said a slew of welfare programmes by his government would see his party through.

The Chief Minister — who is expected to contest from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru district and is toying with the idea of also contesting from Badami in Bagalkot district — said the 2018 Assembly poll would be his last battle.

 

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New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dubbed the ongoing AI Summit a "disorganised PR spectacle" and alleged that Chinese products are being showcased there.

Gandhi's remarks came amid a controversy over Galgotias University allegedly showcasing a robotic dog labelled "Orion" at the AI Summit Expo that critics said was actually a Chinese-made Unitree Go2 and not an in-house innovation.

"Instead of leveraging India's talent and data, the AI summit is a disorganised PR spectacle - Indian data up for sale, Chinese products showcased," the former Congress president said in a post on X.

According to sources, Galgotias University has been asked to vacate its stall at the AI Summit Expo immediately.

Gandhi also tagged a post of the Congress which alleged, "The Modi government has made a laughing stock of India globally, with regard to AI."

"In the ongoing AI Summit, Chinese robots are being displayed as our own," he charged.

The Congress claimed that the Chinese media has mocked India.

"This is truly embarrassing for India. What is even more shameful is the fact that Modi's minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is indulging in the same falsehood, promoting China's robots at the Indian summit," it said.

"The Modi Government has caused irreparable damage to the image of the country - they have reduced AI to a joke - a field in which we could be world leaders given our data power. Brazenly shameless," the party said on X.

Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said in a post on X, "Ashwini Vaishnaw has proved that in India AI means 'Ashwini is Incompetent'."

"As for the 'Pradhan (Tamasha) Mantri' - every event is a 'Jhappi-pappi' fest. This was supposed to be an AI Summit - a platform for innovation and exchange of ideas. BJP reduced it to a cheap China Bazaar," Khera said in his post, adding that the Gen Z of the country would not forgive them.