Bengaluru, Jun 11 (Reporter) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the party high command, accusing them of repeatedly rebuking Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, betraying the state’s people, and using the state as an ATM for elections in other parts of the country. Addressing a press conference here, BJP MLC and General Secretary N Ravi Kumar said Rahul Gandhi’s own remarks had exposed deep fault lines within Congress. “Rahul Gandhi himself has said that Siddaramaiah did not conduct the caste census properly. He is not asking the Modi government to follow the Karnataka model — he’s asking them to follow the Telangana model under Revanth Reddy. That means Rahul Gandhi is repeatedly rebuking Siddaramaiah — slapping him in the face again and again,” Ravi Kumar said. The BJP leader alleged that instead of taking action over the recent deaths in Karnataka linked to administrative lapses, the Congress High Command had engaged in politics and diversion. “We believed they were summoned to Delhi to address the deaths and initiate action. But instead, they said ₹25 lakh compensation is enough and closed the matter. To distract from this, they suddenly brought up the caste census issue,” he charged. He further claimed that the real purpose of the recent meeting called by Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi was not administrative accountability, but to collect funds from Karnataka for the upcoming Bihar elections. “We thought they’d replace the Chief Minister. But they were called only to raise money. This is a betrayal of Karnataka’s seven crore people,” he said. Condemning what he called a series of scandals under the Congress regime, Mr Ravi Kumar alleged that departments such as the Maharshi Valmiki Development Corporation, MUDA, the Labour Department and others were all mired in corruption. “The state has become a graveyard of scams and deaths. The government is not delivering any good work — only scandals,” he stated. Citing ongoing investigation, Ravi Kumar referred to recent ED raids on five Congress MLAs and one MP, allegedly linked to the misuse of Rs 187 crore from the Valmiki Development Corporation. “This money was siphoned off for elections, possibly even a recent bypoll. We’ll know more once the ED report is out,” he added. Calling for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s resignation, the BJP leader said, “Even after the tragic deaths and ED raids, he has not stepped down. He must take moral responsibility and resign.” He also criticised the Congress High Command’s approach, saying, “Karnataka has become an ATM for the Congress. The High Command calls leaders to Delhi just to ask for election funds.” On a separate note, Ravi Kumar clarified that senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa had stayed away from the wedding of his grandson due to personal concerns, but former Minister KS Eshwarappa had attended on a family invitation. “Such ties should remain above politics,” he said, adding that society welcomes such gestures. Amid speculation about Eshwarappa’s return to the party, he said, “The party will take a collective decision at the appropriate time...////...