Modi 'incapable of defending, upholding India's sovereignty'; he must stepdown: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Terming the US waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil for 30 days as "deeply humiliating", Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step down, as he accused him of repeatedly demonstrating that "he is incompetent and incapable" of defending India's sovereignty.
Siddaramaiah said, while RSS-BJP leaders keep demanding that the words "secular" and "socialist" be removed from the Constitution, under their rule, "sovereignty" itself appears to have been removed in practice.
"Narendra Modi has demonstrated again and again that he is incompetent and incapable of defending and upholding India's sovereignty and dignity. For the good of the nation, he must step down," Siddaramaiah posted on 'X'.
"It is deeply humiliating that the United States is now openly saying it will allow India to buy Russian oil for 30 days. No foreign government should ever be in a position to grant or deny India permission to run its economy. Yet this is the situation India finds itself in under Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.
Amid the escalating conflict with Iran, the US recently said it is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil.
Meanwhile, hitting back at Siddaramaiah, state BJP President B Y Vijayendra said, it is unfortunate that a sitting chief minister has reduced himself to the level of a full-time troll, desperately competing with one of his own prank-specialist ministers for social media attention.
Claiming that it increasingly feels as if India's capital is not New Delhi, but Washington DC, Siddaramaiah said in his post that Donald Trump speaks like the acting Prime Minister of India, while Narendra Modi appears reduced to a puppet who merely follows instructions.
"A prime minister of a sovereign republic cannot allow such a situation to arise," he said.
Noting that the pattern is impossible to ignore, the CM pointed out that Trump repeatedly claims credit for the Operation Sindoor ceasefire, yet we have heard no strong rebuttal from PM Modi.
"The United States tells India not to buy Iranian oil, and the Modi government complies. Pressure is applied on Russian oil imports - India reduces them. Now the United States announces that Indian refineries are allowed to buy Russian oil for only 30 days," he said.
Stating that the "continuous and meek surrender" to the United States makes his and his party's earlier doubts look increasingly true, Siddaramaiah said, "The Adani investigation and the Epstein files - where Narendra Modi's closest allies are entangled - appear to have been weaponised by Donald Trump and used as a tool to blackmail India. So much for the hollow claims of making India a Vishwaguru".
The CM further said India must speak with its own voice in the world. At a time when the world is torn by war and bloodshed, India must show moral leadership and independent thinking, guided by its own history.
In his retort, Vijayendra said this is not the UPA era, when the government functioned as a "remote-controlled establishment" under Congress top leader Sonia Gandhi, "readily surrendering India's sovereign interests at the slightest pressure from Washington."
"The world has not forgotten how the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton openly confirmed that India had reduced oil imports from Iran under American pressure - that too in the presence of the UPA's own external affairs minister. Few moments in India's diplomatic history have been more humiliating or revealing," the state BJP chief said.
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Surjewala slams Pratap Simha’s ‘vile’ remarks on CM Siddaramaiah, demands apology from BJP
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the BJP over alleged disparaging remarks made by former Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during an assembly bypoll campaign in Bagalkote.
Simha made the remarks while campaigning for BJP candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath, triggering a political row ahead of the by-elections scheduled for April 9.
Congress has fielded Umesh Meti, son of former MLA late M Y Meti, whose death necessitated the bye-election.
"Pratap Simha's vile remarks about Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bagalkot have exposed the BJP's despicable politics once again," Surjewala said in a social media post.
Alleging a larger political design, he added, "It is increasingly evident that Pratap Simha’s outburst is driven by desperation," and accused the BJP of using such remarks to target backward classes, Scheduled Castes, and minorities.
The Rajya Sabha member further claimed that the incident reflects a pattern within the party. "This is not one man's madness—it is the BJP’s political culture," he said, adding that the remarks were aimed at "denigrating leaders from marginalised communities".
Referring to past incidents, Surjewala said, "CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar have received death threats in the past, including one from BJP leaders who warned that their bodies would be stuffed into a refrigerator."
The Congress leader also criticised the BJP’s bypoll campaign strategy, alleging "internal contradictions".
He pointed to the party’s use of expelled MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal in campaigning despite earlier disciplinary action against him, accusing the BJP of resorting to "abuses and indignities" against opposition leaders.
Surjewala demanded immediate action from the BJP leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, state president B Y Vijayendra, and Leader of Opposition R Ashoka.
He said they must tender a public apology to Kannadigas, particularly to OBCs, SCs, and minorities, over the remarks, and urged the party to expel Simha if it does not repudiate his statements.
Surjewala also called for legal action, demanding that an FIR be registered against Simha and that strict measures be taken.
Warning of "political consequences", he said the electorate in the bypoll-bound constituencies would respond decisively if the BJP failed to apologise, asserting that voters would "teach the BJP a befitting lesson" in the elections.
There has been no immediate reaction from the saffron party yet.
