Allegations of Starvation Deaths, Farmer Suicides Fly as Yogi, Siddaramaiah Engage in Twitter War

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath engaged in a war of words on Twitter on Sunday after the UP CM entered the poll battleground with a mega rally in Bengaluru.

It all started as the BJP star campaigner launched a scathing attack against the Congress CM for calling himself a Hindu and Siddaramiah replied by teaching Yogi about the Karnataka model of governance with a reference to a reported starvation death in UP. Yogi took the jibe in his stride and reminded Siddaramiah of failings in his own state by pointing at farmer suicides.

Siddaramaiah, in his tweet, welcomed Yogi to Bengaluru and asked him to tour the Indira canteens and other ration shops started by his government to “learn" from them. "It will help you address the starvation deaths sometimes reported from your state,” the Karnataka CM wrote, sharpening his attack as the state heads to a high-pitched election in April.

A 50-year-old woman from Bareilly in UP had reportedly died of starvation in November, but the state government had denied the reports and said that she had received rations but was not well for a few days preceding her death. Indira canteens, the pet project of Siddaramaiah, offer lunch and dinner for Rs 10 and breakfast for Rs 5.

Yogi was not the one to take the taunt lying down and reminded Siddaramaiah that the “number of farmer suicides had been highest in Karnataka” during his tenure.

“…not to mention the numerous deaths and transfer of honest officers. As UP CM I am working to undo the misery and lawlessness unleashed by your allies,” Yogi wrote.

Earlier in the day, Yogi, during his Parivarthana rally, had raked up the issue of beef and came down heavily on Siddaramaiah for his recent assertion that he was a Hindu.

“He cannot be a Hindu and promote consumption of beef. When the BJP was in power here, we enacted a law prohibiting cow slaughter. The Congress government repealed that law,” he said to loud cheers from BJP supporters.

Yogi said Siddaramaiah has only now remembered his Hindu roots because of the approaching election. "Siddaramaiah calls himself a Hindu just as Congress president Rahul Gandhi went to temple after temple during the Gujarat election," he claimed.

The Uttar Pradesh CM also attacked the Karnataka CM by citing that there have been 22 murders of Sangh parivar workers in the state, for which no action has been initiated. He claimed there had been no communal clashes in UP since he came to power.

Saying that Karnataka was the janmabhoomi (birthplace) of Lord Hanuman, Yogi asserted that it was imperative that BJP comes back to power here.

“Karnataka will benefit like Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh if it is also ruled by the BJP, which is heading the NDA government at the Centre under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he added.

Adityanath, speaking in Hindi, said Karnataka stagnated in development over the last four years under the Congress, which had failed to implement various schemes of the Modi government.

"Though the Modi government had included Bengaluru, and nine other cities across the state under its ambitious Smart City project, the state government has not taken action to utilise its funds or improve the quality of life in the state.

"The Congress government has been busy polarising the people, dividing them on caste and religious basis and failed to check the worsening law and order situation. It has no time for the development of the state, which was once known for its phenomenal growth in the knowledge sector, especially IT and biotech," said Adityanath.