Mangaluru: As the BJP does not have any issue to convince the electorate, they have been indulging in spreading misinformation and mistrust among the voters, rued District-in-Charge Minister B Ramanath Rai.

Addressing reporters after inaugurating the Election Office near KSRTC bus stand at B C Road near here on Saturday, he said that he will be contesting for the 8th consecutive time with six victories and will be filing his nomination papers on April 21.

Stating that he has undertaken development works worth more than Rs 1,200 crore in the last four-and-a-half years, he regretted that the BJP has been indulging in negative publicity and creating mistrust among the electorate. “As I have been opposing communal disharmony and bat for communal harmony, a few communal elements are not able to digest the fact,” he said and added that he worked for the welfare of the people even when he had lost the elections once.

Noting that he tried his best to provide help to schools, temples, mosques and churches during his tenure, he appealed to the party workers to work for his victory. Referring to the video clip of a BJP MLA flaying RSS and Ananth Kumar going viral, Rai said that BJP leaders themselves are coming out with the facts against BJP leaders.

Re-iterating that he has not done anything which brought dishonour or disrespect to the electorate Rai narrated a story of a scorpion and a seer. Though the scorpion bit every time the seer tried to rescue it, the seer continued to rescue it.

When someone questioned the seer, he said that “Biting is the dharma of a scorpion and rescuing is my dharma.”

Comparing the BJP to scorpion, Rai said that his dharma is taking up development works, come what may. Food and Civil Supplies Minister U T Khader said that the election will be fought between ‘truth and lies’ and ‘development and negative campaigning’. Congress leaders B H Khader, Kanachur Monu, Shahul Hameed, Mamatha S Gatti and Panemangaluru Block Congress Committee president Abbas Ali were present.