Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra on Thursday, 8 October 2026, accused the Congress of exploiting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process to manufacture unrest across the country, alleging the opposition was driven by frustration over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rising popularity and India's development record. Vijayendra made the remarks while addressing reporters in Bagalkot, Karnataka.

Vijayendra's Remarks on PM Modi and SIR

Vijayendra described Wednesday as a 'historic day,' marking what he called 25 years of 'spotless political service and governance' by Prime Minister Modi. He argued that Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, were unable to tolerate India's transformation toward self-reliance and were therefore resorting to what he termed 'baseless allegations against constitutional institutions' under the guise of the SIR controversy.

He alleged that Gandhi had acknowledged the Congress could not return to power independently and was therefore assembling various groups and parties to sustain the SIR protest movement. 'Congress is frustrated, and SIR has become their instrument to sow discord,' Vijayendra said.

Attack on Karnataka Chief Minister Shivakumar

Vijayendra launched a pointed critique of Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, questioning what the Congress government had achieved in its first 100 days in office. He alleged that despite positioning himself as a 'servant of the people,' Shivakumar had shown inadequate concern for farmers facing drought conditions in the state.

The proposed drought compensation of ₹2,500 to farmers was dismissed by Vijayendra as 'akin to offering alms,' calling it wholly insufficient. He further alleged that the Chief Minister's priorities lay with real estate rather than public welfare, citing the government's reported plan to borrow from the World Bank to construct ring roads across taluks — a move Vijayendra claimed was driven by real estate interests rather than developmental need.

Governance Failures Alleged

Vijayendra alleged that most Congress government schemes had remained confined to 'announcements and publicity,' with little on-ground impact. He accused the administration of neglecting critical irrigation and infrastructure projects in North Karnataka, including the Upper Krishna Project (UKP), while diverting focus to ring road construction.

He also accused the government of failing to fill vacant government posts, not clarifying its stance on caste reservation issues carried over from the Basavaraj Bommai government, and of being unable to prevent atrocities against Dalits and crimes against women after Priyank Kharge assumed charge as Home Minister.

Sting Operation Remarks and 2028 Election Warning

Reacting to Chief Minister Shivakumar's recent directive to ministers to remain wary of sting operations, Vijayendra made a pointed reference to the Ramesh Jarkiholi case, sarcastically noting that 'people already know who conducted the sting operation in that matter.' He challenged whether the Congress would conduct similar operations against its own MLAs.

On Shivakumar's stated ambition to become Chief Minister again if the Congress wins in 2028, Vijayendra said he had no objection — but urged the Chief Minister to focus on governance rather than political manoeuvring. The BJP, he added, is bolstering its organisational reach through the 'Booth Sankalpa Yatra' ahead of the upcoming Zilla Panchayat and Taluk Panchayat elections.

The BJP's attack signals an intensifying political battle in Karnataka, with state-level governance failures, the SIR row, and Panchayat election preparations converging into a high-stakes contest that will shape the run-up to the 2028 assembly election.