Modi won't help poor: Amit Shah's translator's slip puts BJP in fix

Bengaluru: With Karnataka Assembly elections round the corner, the Bharatiya Janata Party is making headline for all the wrong reasons in the poll-bound state.

For the second time this week, BJP national president Amit Shah was caught in another embarrassing gaffe due to MP Prahlad Joshi, who was translating his speech at a rally in Challkere of Karnataka’s Devanagiri district.

Pralahad Joshi was the one who corrected Amit Shah earlier this week when he said by mistake that the government of BS Yeddyurappa (the BJP's chief ministerial candidate) was the "number one most corrupt". He obviously meant to say the Congress government of Siddaramaiah.

On Tuesday, Prahlad Joshi while translating BJP chief’s speech from Hindi to Kannada during an election rally ahead of polls on May 12, claimed that "Narendra Modi will not do anything for the poor and Dalits".

Amit Shah had said in Hindi, "The Siddaramaiah government could not develop Karnataka. You have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cast your vote for Yeddyurappa. We will transform Karnataka into the number one state."

Pralahad Joshi's translation, inexplicably, was this, "Narendra Modi will do nothing for the poor and the downtrodden...there is the government of honorable Modiji in the centre. Ensure Yeddyurappa wins and together will transform Karnataka into the number one state."

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah tweeted: "I am suprised that all BJP leaders have started speaking the truth."

On Tuesday, Amit Shah, while accusing Karnataka’s ruling Congress at a press conference, said, "Recently a retired Supreme Court judge said if there was ever a competition of the most corrupt government then the Yeddyurappa government is number one..."

Sitting next to him, Yeddyurappa glanced at him in surprise. Then it was Pralahad Joshi seen whispering something to the BJP president, who quickly corrected himself.

Amit Shah, who was in Mysuru on Saturday said, "In a slip of tongue, I said that Yeddyurappa government is corrupt instead of Siddaramaiah's, and the entire Congress party started to rejoice. I want to tell Rahul Gandhi, that I might have made a mistake but the people of Karnataka will not."

Also Read: Amit Shah slips, calls Yeddyurappa 'most corrupt' ever

Despite prompt correction, Amit Shah's slip of tongue did nothing to stop the Congress from gleefully tweeting and retweeting the video.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah "thanked" the BJP president on Twitter.

Karnataka will go to polls on May 12, the counting and the results will be announced on May 15.