BENGALURU: Hitting out at the Congress for alleging tax injustice to Karnataka to cover up its "failures", the state BJP on Tuesday questioned the grand old party whether social media was the right platform to discuss the issue.
Taking to social media platform X, the Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka Assembly, R. Ashoka slammed Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda who said that the BJP leader does not have the minimum knowledge that a farmer has.
Gowda said this after Ashoka suggested an informal discussion over the distribution of taxes during the GST meetings.
"In your rush to criticise me, why are you mocking the common farmer by saying they have only "minimum knowledge" like an ordinary peanut farmer, Mr Minister for Revenue Krishna Byre Gowda? Ashoka stated.
"Not everyone has the privilege to go abroad for education like you. There are many of us in politics without any family background in the field. It's a tragedy for our state that someone like you, with such disdain for farmers, served earlier as the Agriculture Minister for five years, " he said.
"I'm well aware that the official discussion about tax distribution doesn't take place in GST meetings. However, aren't the Union Finance Minister, Finance Ministers of the states, or other representative ministers present at such meetings? Couldn't an informal discussion about tax distribution be initiated on such platforms to reach a consensus? That was my point, " Ashoka said.
"Recently, in Kerala, didn't the representatives of five non-BJP state governments come together for a meeting? Was that a platform to discuss tax distribution?" Ashoka asked.
"You stage street plays like "Dilli Chalo" and organise photo ops at Jantar Mantar. Were those venues for discussing tax distribution? During election time, or when the government feels embarrassed, don’t you divert public attention with the "drama of My Tax, My Right"? he asked.
"Do you think common people don't understand this strategy and toolkit politics, " Ashoka stated.
"All you care about is blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and, in doing so, covering up your government's failures, corruption, and mistakes. You divert people's attention to create a narrative against the BJP, " Ashoka said.