BJP taking country on path of progress: Yogi Adityanath in poll-bound Karnataka

Adityanatha said the Congress has always been trying to put hurdles on the path of progress.

Raising the pitch for the BJP's election campaign in south Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday held massive roadshows at Puttur and Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district and Karkala in Udupi.

Adityanath, who first arrived in Puttur, where party candidate Asha Thimmappa Gowda is pitted against Ashok Kumar Rai of Congress and a BJP rebel Arun Kumar Puthila, said the BJP is taking the country on path of progress.

Addressing the gathering from the campaign vehicle after the end of his roadshow, Adityanatha said the Congress has always been trying to put hurdles on the path of progress.

Though the Congress tried to prevent the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, the BJP successfully fought the issue in court and the temple will turn into a reality in the near future, he said.

The Congress is now after Bajrang Dal as the party is against patriotic people and try out to demoralise those who uphold nationalist policies, he said.

Adityanath said the people of Karnataka should vote for a Team India to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the BJP has fielded the best candidate in Puttur and asked voters to support Asha Thimmappa Gowda.

Adityanath later campaigned for State Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar at Karkala in Udupi, where also the BJP is facing an unlikely rebel in the form of Sri Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik. Congress has fielded Muniyalu Uday Shetty, a confidante of former Chief Minister Veerappa Moily in the seat.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister held a grand roadshow in Karkala and spoke to the gathering in a few words exhorting them to vote for a "double engine" government for sustained progress.

At the final roadshow of the day at B C Road in Bantwal, where BJP’s young leader and incumbent MLA Rajesh Naik is facing former Minister B Ramanath Rai of Congress, Adityanath was given a rousing welcome by enthusiastic party workers.

Addressing the huge gathering, Adityanath called upon the people of Karnataka to stop the Congress from coming to power as the party has declared intention to ban patriotic organisations like the Bajrang Dal. "Congress is always blocking the path to progress initiated by the BJP government under Narendra Modi," he said.

In a passionate speech, he also invited the people of Karnataka to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh when the Ram temple will be inaugurated in January next year, to the loud cheers from the public.

In all the three meetings, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel and leaders including candidates in the respective segments accompanied Adityanath.