Air Strikes: VK Singh hits out at BS Yeddyurappa, Says Government Action is not to ‘Win Extra Seats’

Yeddyurappa had said the pre-emptive strikes will help the BJP win more than 22 seats from Lok Sabha in Karnataka, but then said his words were taken out of context.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs VK Singh on Thursday criticized the party’s colleague and former chief minister of Karnataka, BS Yeddyurappa, for claiming that Indian air strikes against a terror camp in Pakistan led to a “pro-modi” wave in the country before the elections.

“BS Yeddyurappa ji, I allow myself to disagree,” Singh said in a tweet. “We are one nation, the action taken by our government is to safeguard our nation [and] ensure the safety of our citizens, not gain some additional seats,” he said. Yeddyurappa, who is the head of the Karnataka unit of the BJP, said on Wednesday that the airstrikes will help the BJP to win 22 of the 28 seats of Lok Sabha in the upcoming elections.

Singh also quoted a speech by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Parliament.

“The game of politics will continue, the government will go and leave, the parties will be formed and damaged, but the country should survive, the country’s democracy should survive,” Vajpayee said.

.@BSYBJP ji, I beg to differ. We stand as one nation, action taken by our government is to safeguard our nation & ensure safety of our citizens, not to win a few extra seats. https://t.co/V06LBMAJH3

This speech by Atal ji highlights our position:https://t.co/UyhobIpAny

— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) February 28, 2019

Yeddyurappa said that the wind “blows more and more in favor of the BJP”. “If you see, people are rejoicing in the movement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and they are celebrating,” Yeddyurappa had said.

The BJP chief on Thursday clarified that his comments had been reported out of context and that he had made the same statement several times in the past. “This is not the first time I say that the BJP in Karnataka will win a minimum of 22 seats under the able leadership of Modiji.”