Kateel calls Siddaramaiah ‘arrogant, atheist Congressman’ over Savarkar comment

Lambasting Siddaramaiah, Karnataka state Bharatiya Janata Party president Nalin Kumar Kateel called the Leader of Opposition in Assembly “an atheist Congressman” who comes from a socialist background.

Kateel called the senior Congress leader “an arrogant leader”, and asked what else could you expect from someone who questioned the freedom struggle and patriotism of leaders like Veer Savarkar.

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“An arrogant leader who doesn’t believe in god and religion, is questioning the freedom struggle and patriotism of leaders like Veer Savarkar. What else can one expect from such people?” Kateel asked.

Demanding that the Congress reveal the names of its leaders who were imprisoned in the Andamans during India’s freedom struggle, Kateel said, “If Savarkar was not a freedom fighter, then why was he imprisoned in the cellular jail at Andaman twice? Indira Gandhi had (even) released postal stamps on Savarkar.”

Kateel then dared Siddaramaiah to deny the words of the “supreme leader of the Congress”.

“Siddaramaiah has expressed his thoughts by asking what was wrong in visiting temples after consuming non-vegetarian food. It is a matter of the sentiments and beliefs of the people,” the BJP state chief said.

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Kateel alleged that the Congress leader had spoken against Veer Savarkar, and had opened a discussion on consumption of non-vegetarian food to divert people’s attention. “Siddaramaiah is struggling without having any power. To show his existence, he has engaged in issuing statements that make headlines,” Kateel said.

The BJP state president said there was a leadership crisis in the Congress and Siddaramaiah was discussing controversial issues to be in the limelight. The member of Parliament from Dakshina Kannada also alleged that Siddaramaiah would make controversial statements whenever there was a discussion about who will be the next Karnataka Chief Minister from among Congress leaders such as G Parameshwar, Mallikarjuna Kharge or D K Shivakumar.