Mangaluru: With failures in governance looming large, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is raising the issue of building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya to win the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said here on Monday.

Speaking at “Connect 2018”, a convention organised jointly by the Sunni Students Federation, the Karnataka Cultural Forum and the Sunni Yuvajana Sangha, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the “BJP uses Ram to come back to power”. Urging people not to fall prey to the tactics of the BJP, he said that the people should vote for those who protect the Constitution and those who work for peace and harmonious living in society.

Turning down the allegations that his government favoured only one community by granting more funds, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the grant of funds to Muslims and other minority communities under various schemes was based on the Constitution that mandates equal treatment of all castes and communities. “The grants were based on this logic. Actually, funds given by my government is less compared to their (minority community) population,” he said.

When he took charge as Chief Minister, Mr. Siddaramaih said, grants for minorities were at ₹ 4 crore. He raised it to ₹ 3,100 crore. “If you bring me back to power, I will further raise this to ₹ 10,000 crore,” he said and added that he will never regret his actions. “My actions were as per the Constitution and not to appease any community and get votes,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said and added that his actions were being falsely projected as one to appease a particular community.

Earlier, at the airport, Mr. Siddaramaiah dismissed reports that a few disgruntled Congress legislators were leaving the party.

“There is no dissatisfaction among our party legislators. None will leave the party,” he said.