Belagavi/UNI: In an attempt to allay Panchamsali Lingayats, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said insulting Karnataka leaders is part of Congress' old culture.

"And the latest Karnataka leader, after S Nijalingappa and Virendra Patil, is AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge," he added.

"I want to remind you how Congress hates Karnataka. Insulting Karnataka leaders is part of Congress's old culture. Anyone who causes problems to the special family members of the Congress is insulted in the Congress," he said addressing a rally after unveiling infra projects here.

"History is a witness to how leaders like S Nijalingappa and Virendra Patil were insulted in front of Congress family, every person of Karnataka knows. Now once again another leader of Karnataka has been insulted in front of a special family of Congress," he said.

In the past, Lingayat leaders Patil and Nijalingappa were allegedly humiliated by Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi, respectively.

Nijalingappa fell out after he had expelled then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the party for fostering a cult of personality.

The tussle between the Syndicate (senior leaders including Nijalingappa) and Young Turks (Indira Gandhi supporters) led to the first major split in the Congress.

Patil was unceremoniously removed from the post of chief minister in 1990 by then-Congress President Rajiv Gandhi. From there on, the Lingayats shifted their allegiance to other parties, and now the trusted vote bank of the BJP.

However, a section of the Lingayat community, the Panchamsalis, have been expressing their dissatisfaction over the Basavaraj Bommai's offer to include the community in the new 2D category of reservation.

This has created a concern of sorts as some BJP leaders fear losing votes of the Panchamsalis in the upcoming assembly elections.

PM Modi also put a dilemma into the Congress fold by saying that Kharge also is being mistreated and insulted by the Congress's high command.

"Friends, I have a lot of respect for Mr Mailkarjun Khadge, the son of this soil, who has had a good tenure for fifty years. But it was very sad to see this on that day when the Congress session was going on in Chhattisgarh.

"In that programme Kharge ji, the oldest person in politics was present there and is also the president of that party. It was sunny. It was natural for the people who were standing there to feel sunburned. But in that sun, Kharge ji who is the oldest and most senior Congress leader didn't get lucky to have an umbrella.

"The umbrella was set up for someone else. This tells that Kharge ji is the president of the Congress, but the whole world is watching the way he is being treated in the Congress. Seeing it, the whole world is also watching that in whose hands is the remote control," he said.

Modi said today many parties of the country are bound in the clutches of family politics, and the country needs to be freed from these clutches. "Therefore, people have to be alert from parties like the Congress," he said.

Referring to "Modi Teri Kabra Khudegi" remarks made by the Opposition parties, PM Modi said it reflects their disappointment.

"These Congress people have become so disappointed, now they think that as long as Modi is alive, his pulse is not going to melt. And that's why everyone these days is saying "Die Modi die". Some people have become busy digging graves. They are saying Modi, your grave will be dug. But the country is saying to Modi your lotus will bloom," he said.

When the work is done with true intention, then there is proper development, Modi said and added that the intention of the double-engine government is true and the commitment to development is also firm.

Talking about the projects taken up in Belagavi district, Modi said the state-of-the-art railway stations and new rail lines will boost railway connectivity in the region.

"Belagavi is a big centre for health, education and tourism. Better rail connectivity will help these sectors to grow and help the local economy," he said.

The BJP government has always kept the rights of sugarcane farmers on priority and it has made provisions to waive tax on payments made since 2016-17 to sugar cooperatives, he said.

"This will help sugar co-operatives in writing off the loans worth Rs 10,000 crore which got accumulated due to the UPA government's policies," he added.

Modi said Karnataka has always been the hub of Sree Anna and the government has given it a new identity in this year’s budget.

"The cost of growing Sree Anna is less and water required for irrigation purposes is also less and it is going to benefit small farmers," he said.

Modi said small farmers have been neglected for decades, but these farmers are the priority under BJP's rule. "Rs 2.5 lakh crore has been deposited through PM Kisan Samman Nidhi in the accounts of our farmers," he said.

In 2014, PM Modi said India's budget for agriculture was Rs 25,000 crore, but under this year's budget, the central government has increased it to Rs 1.25 lakh crore.

Modi said his government has transferred Rs 16,000 crore to farmers from across the country from here today eliminating middlemen. "If it would have been Congress rule over Rs 12,000 crore would have been lost out of Rs 16,000," he said.

Belagavi has become a base for various industries, and the double-engine government is committed to strengthening it, the PM said.

PM Modi said India continues to remember the Bravehearts of this land, Rani Chennamma and Kranti Veera Sangolli Rayanna for fighting against imperialism to end the slavery of the country.

"Belagavi is also known as Venugram as this city is known for handicrafts and has a good population of artisans. Earlier governments had put a ban on cutting bamboo but we changed the law and allowed the usage of bamboo which will benefit lakhs of artisans," he added.