Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh criticised party colleague and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa on Thursday for claiming that the Indian air strikes on a terror camp in Pakistan have led to a “pro-Modi” wave in the country ahead of the elections.
“BS Yeddyurappa ji, I beg to differ,” Singh said in a tweet. “We stand as one nation, action taken by our government is to safeguard our nation [and] ensure safety of our citizens, not to win a few extra seats,” he said. Yeddyurappa, who is the BJP’s Karnataka unit chief, had said on Wednesday that the air strikes will help the BJP win over 22 of the state’s 28 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections.
Singh also cited a speech by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the Parliament. “The game of politics will go on, government will come and go, parties will be formed and damaged, but the country should survive, the country’s democracy should survive,” Vajpayee had said.
Yeddyurappa said the wind was “increasingly blowing in favour of the BJP”. “If you see, people are rejoicing over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move and they are celebrating,” Yeddyurappa had said.
The BJP chief on Thursday clarified that his comments had been reported out of context and that he had made the same statement several times in the past. “This is not the first time that I said the BJP in Karnataka will win a minimum of 22 seats under the able leadership of Modiji.”
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