Bhatkal: “It was Rahul Gandhi who took out the Bharat Jodo Yatra. But in reality, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who united India from Kanyakumari to Kashmir,” said State BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel.

He noted this while speaking after inaugurating a meeting of Page Pramukhs of Bhatkal-Honnavar Assembly constituency at Janata Vidyalaya in Shirali in Bhatkal.

“It was Bhatkal constituency that inspired the BJP to flourish in the coastal area of the State. Therefore, the first BJP convention will be held in Bhatkal itself and the Sankalp Yatra will be launched in the coastal area,” he said.

Kateel alleged that Congress’s appeasement politics was not allowing peace to prevail in Bhatkal. But the constituency saw a lot of development work under the BJP rule. The Bhatkal MLA has developed the constituency by sourcing Rs 1,300 crore funds.

“The country is undergoing transformation. BJP came to power in Gujarat for the 7th time with the help of Page Pramukhs only. The same pattern is being followed in Karnataka as well. Congress is divided into three parts in the State. Congress State President D K Shivakumar will not be able to bring any positive changes in the State. In fact, there are no workers in the Congress party,” Kateel quipped.

He said that former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy who has been touring the State does not have the capacity to hold even one booth-level convention in Bhatkal.

“Congress is talking about corruption. But Congress leaders themselves have been caught in the grip of several scandals. Siddaramaiah’s close friend Kempayya has been trapped. The day is not far when Siddaramaiah will have to go to jail,” Kateel said.

Bhatkal MLA Sunil Naik spoke about the development works taken up in the taluk.

State BJP General Secretary Mahesh Tenginakai, District president Venkatesh Nayak, district leaders Bharti Jambe, N S Hegde, Prasanna Kerake, Chandru Esale, Guruprasad Hegde, Ravi Naik, Subray Devadiga, Rajesh Bhandari and others were present.