Karnataka Elections 2018: Congress pushing lies via foreign firms - PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Congress of spreading false propaganda ahead of the Karnataka elections and attempting to divide society on the basis of caste. He also cautioned party workers of Congress' efforts to "mislead you by hiring foreign agencies", referencing the party's association with Cambridge Analytica.

Interacting with the party's workers, leaders and elected representatives from Karnataka on his mobile app, Modi said that "BJP has a three-pronged agenda for Karnataka — development, fast-paced development, all round development."

He talked about the need to cleanse mainstream politics of Congress culture. "A government with absolute majority is needed to change Karnataka's destiny," he said, "India is shining today only because we have a government which has a complete majority at the Centre after 30 years." He urged workers to endeavour to achieve the same goal in the only big state the Congress still rules, apart from Punjab.

Without naming the Lingayats, Modi accused Congress of caste politics. "When elections come, these clever people offer lollipops to a caste group so that they vote on emotion. When the next election comes, they grab another caste group and give them a new lollipop," he said.