Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Thursday accused the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government of not taking any action in murder cases of BJP workers in the state.

Claiming that at least 20 Rashtirya Swayamsevak Sangh and BJP workers have been murdered in the state in the last four years, Shah, who addressed the party’s Parivartan Rally in Mysuru, said, “[The] BJP will bring them to justice come what may after forming the government in the state.”

The party chief said the rally was aimed at bringing a change in the lives of the youth in the state. He added that the BJP, if it comes to power in Karnataka, will provide better security to the women. Karnataka is scheduled to go to polls later this year.

Shah said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and corruption were two faces of the same coin, reported News18. “If I start counting the corruption charges against the Karnataka chief minister, I won’t be able to go from here,” said Shah. He added that the Congress was against granting constitutional status to the Other Backward Classes Commission. “The Karnataka government calls itself a friend of the OBC community, but when our prime minister wanted to give constitutional status to OBC Commission and bring in an amendment, the Congress created obstacles at the Centre,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Shah’s rally had to be postponed by more than an hour because of ongoing protests in the state against the non-implementation of the Kalasa-Banduri dam project. Farmers and some pro-Kannada groups are on a 12-hour strike from 6 am over the Mahadayi river water sharing dispute. The outfits want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the dispute between Karnataka and Goa.

BJP leaders had accused the Siddaramaiah government of misusing official machinery to hold a strike on a day when the party’s leaders were to campaign in the state. Karnataka BJP President BS Yeddyurappa said that the party would retaliate by observing district-specific shutdowns when Congress President Rahul Gandhi tours the state.