"Is your purpose of coming to Karnataka is to loot..." Congress leader Siddaramaiah questions PM Modi

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 9 : Karnataka Leader of Opposition (LoP) and Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioning his actual purpose of visiting Karnataka.

Siddaramaiah tweeted, "Prime Minister @narendramodi avare, is your purpose of coming to Karnataka is to give to Karnataka or to loot from Karnataka? You have already stolen banks, ports and airports from Kannadigas. Are you now trying to steal Nandini (KMF) from us?"

PM Modi is on a Karnataka visit where he launched the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA) and inaugurated the 'Commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger' in Karnataka.

Prime Minister Modi also visited Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka where he interacted with frontline field staff and self-help groups involved in conservation efforts, as part of programmes to mark 50 years of 'Project Tiger'.

Karnataka LoP in a series of tweets said, "It was Gujarat's Baroda Bank that subsumed our Vijaya Bank. Ports and Airports were handed over to Gujarat's Ad. Now, AMUL from Gujarat is planning to eat our KMF (Nandini). Mr @narendramodi, Are we the enemies for Gujaratis?"

"State's milk production is affected since the day union cooperative minister Amit Shah spoke about the possibility of the KMF and Amul merger. What is your role in this, Mr @narendramodi?" he said in another tweet.

Hitting out at PM Modi he further said, "Instead of giving 2 crore jobs a year to our youths, @narendramodi took away the jobs of Kannadigas from our banks, ports and airports. Now, @BJP4Karnataka wants to hurt the prospects of our farmers by giving KMF to AMUL."

Talking about his government he said, "Our government implemented Ksheera Dhare to provide an incentive of Rs 5 for every litre of milk. This helped the production to increase from 45 lakh litre in 2013 to 73 lakh litre in 2017."

Earlier on Friday, the former CM also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and alleged that it was the weak leadership of BJP in the state which is the direct cause of the Karnataka Milk Federation's (KMF) present dying condition.

"Banks built by our elders in Karnataka were eaten up. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah have hatched a plan to adopt Nandini, who is now a Sanjeevini of the farmers. Watch out mirrors...!! The state's dairy industry has been rocked ever since Amit Shah, who is also the Union Cooperation Minister, proposed the merger of KMF and Amul. Amul is entering through the back door in the face of strong Kannadigas opposition to the merger proposal," Siddaramaiah said.

He added that Nandini milk and yoghurt have been disappearing in the state for the past few days. At the same time, sales of Amul products have started with a bang.

"Gujarat-based Amul had earlier tried to enter the Karnataka market by selling milk and yoghurt. We did not allow it. Now the BJP has extended a red-carpet welcome. Milk stock in KMF is decreasing during the BJP regime. Where 99 lakh litres of milk should be collected per day, only 71 lakh litres of milk is being collected. Is this a conspiracy against KMF?", he asked.

"The BJP leadership in Karnataka is so weak that on one hand, the Maharashtra government is trying to establish its rule directly in the Belgaum border region. On the other hand, the state of Gujarat is trying to push the farmers to the streets through Amul", he added.

The furore comes ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections to be held in a single phase on May 10 with the counting of votes scheduled on May 13.