Chitradurga (Karnataka): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the history of Congress is of terror and appeasement of terrorists, and it had left Karnataka at the mercy of terrorists, citing how then topmost Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had shed tears over the killings of terrorist in the 2008 Batla House encounter.

Sonia Gandhi cried bitterly after seeing the images of the Batla House encounter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

"Here in Karnataka, you have seen how the Congress has been promoting terror. Congress had left Karnataka at the mercy of terrorists. It is the BJP that has broken the back of terrorism. The appeasement game has stopped. To make Karnataka number one for prosperous Karnataka, it is equally important for Karnataka to be safe," he said while addressing a public rally here.

Modi said the history of Congress is of terror and appeasement of terrorists, but the BJP broke the back of terrorism and stopped appeasement politics in the state.

"The people of Karnataka should never forget the history of Congress and its ideology. The history of Congress is of terror and appeasement of terrorists. When the Batla House encounter took place in Delhi, tears welled up in the eyes of the biggest leader of the Congress (Sonia Gandhi) after hearing the news of the death of the terrorists," he said.

Salman Khurshid, in one of his rallies during the 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, had said that Sonia Gandhi, the then Congress President, cried bitterly after seeing the images of the slain terrorists, Modi said.

Modi also said the Congress questioned the capability of the country's armed forces when the surgical and air strikes took place. "Terror promoting Congress, JDS can never increase investment and create new opportunities for the youth here," he said.

He said the agenda of Congress is to insult people by abusing them, and sometimes abuse OBC and Lingayat communities. "They (Congress) have abused me more than 90 times and now they are moving towards the century. The Congress had not even spared Nijalingappa ji, the Congress that insults him can create a century of abuses," he said.

People of Karnataka must beware of both Congress and JDS, because their heart and their actions are the same. "Both of them are dynasts, both promote corruption,” he said.

The proof of misgovernance of Congress-JDS is the Upper Bhadra Irrigation Project, Modi said, adding that they were not worried about the farmers, so they ignored this project. "The double-engine government of BJP has resolved to complete this project," he said.

Modi said Congress can never compete with the development works of the BJP because of the number of medical colleges built by Congress in the 10 years before 2014, the BJP government built twice as many medical colleges in just 9 years.

He said the BJP government is emphasizing conducting education from medicine to engineering in the local language. "This will give special benefit to the poor youth of the village," he said.

Modi said Congress had allocated a meager budget worth Rs 25,000 crore for the tribal development measures, whereas in the case of BJP, the number stands at around 1.25 lakh crore for the same.

He said BJP started 'Raita Vidya Nidhi' for the education of farmers' children, and built more than 400 Eklavya model schools for tribal comrades. "The Congress government had even created a scam in the children's uniform," he said.

To make Karnataka a driving force, a growth engine for a developed India, bringing double-engine government back to power was necessary, he said.

BJP’s Sankalpa Patra for Karnataka unveiled yesterday is excellent as it has a roadmap to make Karnataka the No.1 state in the country. It has a blueprint for modern infrastructure and focuses on the empowerment of women and youth, he said.

(With UNI inputs)