As the Karnataka elections draw near, the Congress party has started throwing personal insults at PM Narendra Modi yet again, in their cynical bid to reclaim power. On Sunday, January 22, the party’s senior leader and the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, taking a cue from his colleagues, compared the incumbent Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to Adolf Hitler.
Siddaramaiah tried to draw between Indian PM Modi and the German dictator Hitler, Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, and Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. The Congress leader further stated that PM Modi’s leadership would last “only a few days more”.
BATTLEGROUND KARNATAKA
— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) January 23, 2023
As the battle for #Karnataka heats up, Veteran Karnataka Congress leader & former CM #Siddaramaiah has once again likened the BJP to Hitler.@NehaHebbs reports | #KarnatakaElection2023 pic.twitter.com/h7YdUXLhPr
“He is the Prime Minister, let him come. We don’t have any problems. However, if he says a hundred times that the BJP will come to power, I will make it clear that will not happen,” the Congress leader said.
“People will not believe it, but what happened to Hitler? For a few days, he walked around pompously. What became of Mussolini and Franco? He (PM Modi) will also walk around like this for a few days,” he added.
Siddaramaiah also went on an unhinged rant against freedom fighter Veer Savarkar, the perennial favourite target of Congress leaders and their supremo Rahul Gandhi. He added, “Hindu and Hindutva are entirely different. Savarkar was the one who invented the word Hindutva. He was influenced by the ideology preached by Adolf Hitler.”
Prior to this, Siddaramaih had also insulted Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai saying that he shivers like a “puppy” in front of PM Narendra Modi.
Siddaramaiah compares Karnataka CM Bommai to a ‘puppy’, saying that ‘Bommai shivers like a puppy in front of PM’.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 4, 2023
Siddaramaiah is known for his loose tongue & irresponsible statements: BJP’s S Prakash hits out at Congress.#Karnataka #Siddaramiah | @kritsween pic.twitter.com/krnI45TQb9
BJP reacts to comments made by Congress leader Siddaramaiah
In response to Siddaramaiah’s remark, BJP leader and Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai stated that he will take his statement positively. Bommai went on to say that a dog is a faithful animal, and he is likewise loyal to the people of Karnataka.
“This shows his (personality). I am not going to counter it. A dog is a faithful animal, I am faithfully serving the people of Karnataka. So even if they call me a dog, I will take the positive from it and will work for the people. I will not divide society and lie to the people like they have been doing,” CM Bommai told reporters when asked about Siddaramaiah’s comment.
Congress leaders have repeatedly made disparaging remarks against PM Modi
This is not the first time a Congress leader has insulted and personally abused Prime Minister Modi. From Sonia Gandhi’s “Maut Ka Saudagar” comment to Siddaramaiah’s latest Hitler jibe, Congress has a long history of attacking PM Modi personally.
One can recall how, in 2019, the year when PM Modi went on to become the first non-Congress PM to be elected for the second time after the completion of his five-year tenure, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s confidante Sam Pitroda had gone on to compare PM Modi to Hitler.
Pitroda had even questioned the fatality count of the Balakot airstrikes, which were carried out by the Indian Armed Forces to avenge the deaths of 40 CRPF members slain in a terror assault in Pulwama. He went on to raise fingers at PM Modi’s leadership by asking, “PM Modi represents strong leadership, even Hitler was very strong. Even the Chinese leader is very strong. Is this what India wants?” Pitroda implied that Modi and Hitler are similar and warned the country if they needed someone like Hitler to govern them.
Last year, veteran Congress leader and Gandhi family loyalist Subodh Kant Sahay courted controversy for wishing death upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a protest over the Agnipath scheme.
In a video aired by Times Now, Sahay could be heard saying, “I think Modi has surpassed all records made by Hitler. Even that dictator had started an army recruitment scheme (like Modi’s Agnipath)”.
“Modi Hitler ki raah chalega, toh Hitler ki Maut marega (If Modi treads the path of Hitler, then, he will die like him,” the Congress leader said.
Prior to that, Congress leader Sheikh Hussain said, “Jaise Kutte ki maut hoti hai waise Narendra Modi ki maut hogi (Modi will die a dog’s death)”. The remark had come while the grand old party’s senior leader was demonstrating outside the ED office in Nagpur to protest against the interrogation of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi by the agency.
Similarly, on July 12, 2022, Congress leader Alka Lamba took to Twitter to abuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi as she shared a report card detailing how India had “failed” in various aspects of the global index under Modi’s leadership since 2014. Drawing inspiration from Congress’ foul-mouthed leader Manu Shankar Aiyar, Lamba went on to refer to the Prime Minister of India as a ‘nalayak’ (incompetent) person.
Back in 2017, veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had called PM Modi a ‘neech aadmi,’ a casteist slur. At that time, the people of India gave a resounding reply to Aiyar by giving a historic verdict to PM Modi during the next election. It remains to be seen how the people of Karnataka now react to Siddaramaiah’s Hilter comment against Narendra Modi.
