Kalaburagi: Newly appointed Karnataka state BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel has taken a dig at the Congress party, with the help of the epic Ramayana. 

He said, “Gandhiji had said everyone in India should be made like Lord Rama. Why? During the days of Ramayana, there was one Rama and one Ravana. But now, the Congress is full of Ravanas. He had foreseen this situation.” 

The BJP state president was in Kalaburagi, his first visit to the North Karnataka town after assuming charge. 

Reacting to his comments, Professor KE Radhakrishna, the vice-president of Karnataka Congress said, “Nalin kumar kateel has to his credit converting Ramas into Ravanas. He will have to quickly make a rereading of Ramayana and Mahabharata. I don’t expect him to read Vedas and Upanishads.  He should do an introspection to know how a party like his can put themselves in role of Lord Rama. The country has worshipped many forms of Rama, but not Kodandarama. I hope he undergoes a course in Ramayana.” 

Ever since he took over as the state president, Nalin Kumar Kateel has frequently jibes at the Congress. In one such instance, he had levelled allegations against former CM Siddaramaiah that he was the one who got Congress MLA DK Shivakumar (DKS) arrested in the money-laundering case. He had said that the IT raids against DKS had taken place when Siddaramaiah was the CM, which only meant that Siddaramaiah feared the growth of DKS. 

On the other hand, Siddaramaiah had termed these remarks “idiotic”. 

There is an allegation that the BJP-led Central government is targeting only opposition leaders by misusing central agencies like the CBI and the ED. 
Nalin Kumar Kateel is touring different parts of the state to meet BJP karyakartas, with a view to build a stronger BJP. He is also close to the Rashtreeya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).