Congress peaked early, BJP campaign hitting right chord at right time: BL Santhosh
New Delhi, May 5: Senior BJP leader B L Santhosh has said the Congress campaign in Karnataka peaked early while his party's electioneering is hitting the right chord at the right time and has put it on course to win a majority.
Speaking on a 'Twitter Space', the key BJP general secretary in charge of the party organisation described Bajrang Dal as a "nation-building force" and slammed the Congress for equating it with the banned Islamic outfit PFI, which he blamed for killing several of his party's workers.
"Hindu and terrorism, they do not go together at all. Hindu and extremism both words cannot walk together.... They (Congress) have given us an issue and we will be raising them," he said amid aggressive campaign by the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to corner the opposition party over the issue.
The Congress promised in its manifesto of tough action against Bajrang Dal just to garner minority votes, he said. With the BJP invoking Lord Hanuman in its counter campaign, Santhosh noted that a senior Congress leader posted on social media a photo of him bowing before Lord Hanuman.
"This is the way these people are getting caught in their own web," he said, targeting the Congress as well as the third party in the fray, Janata Dal (Secular).
Santhosh, who hails from Karnataka, acknowledged that the ruling party was "a bit on the back foot" earlier because of the Congress' continuous attack but asserted that the opposition party was not successful in building anti-incumbency against the state government.
"We don't have any anti-incumbency troubling, harming us," he said, adding that the state government's performance may not have been "spectacular" but it has been good. He praised the government headed by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and huge rains last year.
As the BJP launched its campaign to retain power in the state, he said, the biggest challenge for the leadership was not winning the polls but winning with a clear majority.
Around a month back the BJP was confident of emerging as the single largest party whatever be the surveys, he said in an apparent reference to the opinion polls which had put the Congress ahead of the ruling party in the election to the 224-member assembly on May 10.
"Over a period of last 30 days and over a period of next six days our major aim is that we have to cross the halfway mark. We are crossing it and we have to go past 120 and we have to touch 130 if possible," he said.
The Congress campaign, he said, peaked early. It should have peaked by May 5-May 6 but it peaked by April 24-25. "They do not have anything new to offer to electorate," he said, adding that the opposition party has nothing concrete to file complaint against the state government over corruption issues it has been raising.
Despite hard attacks from the Congress, anti-incumbency factor did not build up, he claimed.
"Our campaign is hitting the right chord at the right time," Santhosh said, adding that the BJP manifesto has drawn praise from all sections of society after being prepared following consultations with various groups across the state.
PM Modi visited the state many times before the polls were announced to inaugurate a number of development projects, from expressway to Vande Bharat train and IIT, while the state government has perfectly complemented the Centre to push the state ahead on various development metrics, he said.
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Citing various figures, ranging from more than 55 lakh farmers getting Rs 10,000 annual payment to four lakh families getting property rights to the state emerging top in getting FDI, he said people will back the BJP's performance over the Congress' guarantees. People also know that the Congress has failed in delivering on its promises in states where it is in power, he added.
At the receiving end of criticism from some BJP leaders like Jagadish Shettar who quit the party after being denied the ticket, Santhosh talked about the extensive ticket-selection exercise the party took and asserted that it is not possible for one person to influence the process.
The campaign for the keenly contested polls will end on May 8 and the counting of votes is scheduled for May 13.
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Court imposes Rs 500 fine on ex-BJP MP Brij Bhushan for false testimony, closes proceedings
Gonda (UP), Mar 18 (PTI): A local court here on Tuesday imposed a fine of Rs 500 on former BJP MP from Kaiserganj, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, while closing proceedings against him in a case related to providing false testimony.
Olympians Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik had accused Brij Bhushan of sexually abusing junior wrestlers and held a long protest at Jantar Mantar. An FIR was lodged and the former BJP MP is facing trial in the case.
Brij Bhushan has denied the charges.
According to Assistant District Government counsel (Criminal) Avneesh Dwivedi, the case dates back to 1990 when Brij Bhushan lodged an FIR at Nawabganj police station, alleging that around 4 pm on September 8, 1990, he was at his residence in Mohalla Padav with his associates when three men — Ugrasen Singh from Rudrapur Bisen, Virendra Kumar Mishra from Pandari Kripal and Ramesh Chandra Mishra from Pathakpurwa Khera Colony — arrived for a conversation.
During the discussion, Ugrasen Singh allegedly fired at him with a pistol, but he escaped unharmed.
He further said Virendra Kumar Mishra and Ramesh Chandra Mishra allegedly attacked him with a knife, causing an injury to his hand. However, intervention from bystanders led to the accused being overpowered and detained, Brij Bhushan had alleged.
Following an investigation, police filed a charge sheet against all three accused.
During the trial, two of the accused — Ugrasen Singh and Ramesh Chandra Mishra — passed away.
During his court testimony, Brij Bhushan failed to identify the remaining accused Virendra Kumar Mishra and even denied that he had attacked him.
Based on this, the defence sought Mishra's acquittal. On September 11 last year, the Additional District and Sessions Judge (Third) acquitted him.
The court then ordered a separate criminal proceeding against Brij Bhushan for giving false testimony.
The case was registered on September 17 and was presented before the Additional Sessions Judge (First).
Brij Bhushan was summoned but he failed to appear, leading to the issuance of a non-bailable warrant.
On Monday, Singh appeared in court and apologised for his absence.
The judge, Rajesh Kumar, cancelled the warrant and scheduled the hearing for Tuesday during which the court imposed a fine of Rs 500 on Singh and closed the case.
