Bengaluru: Terming Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut's statement that Kannadidgas may find it difficult to do business in Mumbai as "anti-Kannadiga" and "anti-national", Karnataka BJP on Tuesday took a dig at the state Congress leaders for their "silence" on the issue.

Congress is part of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVH) government in Maharashtra.

Urging Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra to set up an office in Belagavi in Karnataka, Raut on Sunday claimed that when Marathi-speaking people are attacked in this border district, Shiv Sainiks retaliate by vandalising transport buses belonging to Karnataka coming into their state.

The Rajya Sabha member went on to warn that if such an incident happened in Mumbai, then it would be "difficult for Kannadigas here (Mumbai) to conduct their trade and business," but then added that "no one should go to that level".

Referring to Raut's statement that Kannadigas may find it difficult to do business in Mumbai, Karnataka BJP tweeted: "As India fights Corona, it is shocking to see Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut making anti-national remarks".

"Will Siddaramaiah (Leader of Opposition in Karnataka) and D K Shivakumar (state Congress President) condemn this anti-kannadiga statement by their alliance partner in Maharashtra? Will they ask Sonia Gandhi to withdraw from the MVA alliance?" it asked.

Member of Parliament from Bengaluru South Tejasvi Surya too said, Karnataka Congress' silence on the issue shows "their love for power is more than love for Karnataka".

"Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress govt (in Maharashtra) is proving to be disgrace to the country everyday.

When the country has to stand united in the hour of distress, MVP leaders are dividing people on issues of language," he tweeted.

Maharashtra claims certain areas, including Belagavi, Karwar and Nippani which are part of Karnataka, contending that the majority of population in these areas is Marathi- speaking.

On its part, as an assertion that Belagavi is an integral part of the state, Karnataka has built the 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha', modeled on the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat in Bengaluru, where the legislature session is generally held once a year.

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Chandigarh (PTI): The Congress on Thursday announced candidates for eight of the nine Lok Sabha seats it is contesting in Haryana, fielding former Union minister Kumari Selja, Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda and youth leader Divyanshu Budhiraja, besides two sitting MLAs.

The party has also fielded former MP Jai Prakash and leaders Satpal Brahmachari and Mahendra Pratap, according to the list released late Thursday evening.

The Congress is contesting nine of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. It has not yet announced its candidate for the Gurugram constituency.

The Aam Aadmi Party, a constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc, will contest the Kurukshetra seat.

Congress general secretary and former Union minister Selja will contest from the Sirsa (reserved) seat and sitting MLAs Varun Choudhary and Rao Dan Singh from the Ambala (reserved) and the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seats, respectively.

Deepender Hooda, son of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, will enter the fray from Rohtak. He has represented the Rohtak parliamentary constituency three times in the past.

Jai Prakash has been fielded from Hisar, the Congress' Haryana youth wing president Divanshu Budhiraja from Karnal, Satpal Brahmachari from Sonipat and Mahendra Pratap from Faridabad.