Karnataka chief minister, Siddaramaiah, on Sunday said that the abusive word used by the minister in Goa’s BJP-led government was ‘reprehensible.’
He took to Twitter to express his outrage adding that he held no grudges against the guilty minister.
Siddaramaiah wrote, “The abusive words used against #Kannadigas by @BJP4India Irrigation Minister from Goa are reprehensible to say the least. However, we hold no grudge against the people of Goa. We will continue to strive to secure drinking water from #Mahadayi for our people.”
The abusive words used against #Kannadigas by @BJP4India Irrigation Minister from Goa are reprehensible to say the least. However, we hold no grudge against the people of Goa. We will continue to strive to secure drinking water from #Mahadayi for our people.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 14, 2018
The Karnaka chief minister’s response came after a senior minister from Goa abused Kannadigas, the native people of Karnataka, by calling them haramis, illegitimate.
Water Resource Minister Vinod Palienkar later had said that he uttered the abusive words for Kannadigas in a spur of the moment, reported Hindustan Times.
Palienkar said that Karnataka had already started diverting water from the Mahadayi river which would have otherwise flowed into Goa adding that people of Karnataka could not be trusted.
“I went with a team of the Water Resource department to the site and saw that work on the head regulator was on, and flow of water which comes to Goa was being stopped and diverted towards Karnataka,” he was quoted by Indian Express.
Reacting to the abuses hurled by a minister in the BJP-led government of Goa at people of Karnataka, Congress MLC Rizwan Arshad tweeted, “* Modi insulted Kannadigas saying there is no development in Karnataka! * Yogi insulted Karnataka saying we are going backwards! * Now yet again BJP insults Kannadigas and call us “Haramis”!
#KannadaSwabhimana
#BJPMahadayiMosa”
* Modi insulted Kannadigas saying there is no development in Karnataka!
* Yogi insulted Karnataka saying we are going backwards!
* Now yet again BJP insults Kannadigas and call us “Haramis”!#KannadaSwabhimana#BJPMahadayiMosa
— Rizwan Arshad (@ArshadRizwan) January 14, 2018
Karnataka goes to poll in next few months and the BJP has launched its campaign to dislodge the Siddaramiah’s government by also invoking Hindutva to allegedly polarise votes.