Under relentless attack from Modi and other BJP leaders, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah issued a notice of defamation against Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and BJP’s Chief Ministerial face B.S. Yeddyurappa for their attacks on him on corruption like “sidda rupiah government”. On his part, Modi rejected the Congress accusation against his government of not creating enough jobs and claimed that several of its initiatives led to the creation of jobs in public and private sectors. Addressing a press conference here, Singh said: “It doesn’t behove a Prime Minister to stoop so low and it is not good for the country as a whole as well.” He added: “Petrol and diesel prices in India are at a historic high. This is in spite of lower international crude oil prices because the Modi government chooses to levy excessive excise taxes. “Instead of passing on the benefit of low prices to the people, the Central government has sought to punish our people,” the Congress leader said. “During our (UPA government) tenure (2004-14), in the face of high crude oil prices, we cushioned the common man against their effects. Since the present government assumed power, the international oil prices declined 67 per cent, but petrol and diesel prices have increased 110 per cent,” he said. Rejecting the Congress accusation against his government of not creating enough jobs, Modi, in turn, held the Congress responsible for the unemployment situation and accused it of opposing technologies/initiatives like the EVMs and Aadhaar. “With emphasis on public and private sectors, we are also focussing on personal sector for employment. The pace of work on the infrastructure projects has been increased,” Modi said in response to a query while addressing Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha ‘karyakartas’ through his NaMo app.
