Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday clarified his “terrorist” remarks against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he did not call him a terrorist in the literal sense but in a way that he was “trying to silence people”.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has written to the Election Commission, complaining of “g“Very insulting remarks” against Prime Minister Modi.
Speaking to reporters in Kalburgi in Karnataka, Karji accused Prime Minister Modi of using the CBI and other agencies to “scare people” and defeat them in elections.
“I did not speak against the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is intimidating politicians and candidates, and regarding this, I said that tax terrorism is happening, the tax department is conducting raids, the Income Tax Department is conducting raids, the CBI is conducting raids. This terrorism is being facilitated by the Prime Minister. I did not call him a terrorist; he is facilitating terrorism to scare people. He is trying to silence people through raids and trying to defeat them in elections. This is what I said in Chennai,” Karg said. that I.
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The BJP has written a letter to the Election Commission complaining about Mallikarjun Kharge’s remarks.
“Describing the country’s longest-serving political leader, leader of the world’s largest party and a candidate for electoral purposes as a ‘terrorist’ is a form of extreme personal defamation that is completely inconsistent with standards of public conduct, and is a blatant violation of the MCC,” the letter said.
The letter also alleged that the statements amounted to an offense under Section 175 of the BNS, apparent unjustified interference with free electoral choice under Sections 171 and 174, and prima facie defamation under Section 356(1) of the BNS.
What did Mallikarjun Kharge say about Prime Minister Narendra Modi?
Earlier in a press conference in Chennai, Mallikarjun Karge attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, He accused him of “terrorizing” political parties and the people by misusing government machinery and central agencies to stifle dissent.
Speaking alongside AICC general secretary (organization) KC Venugopal, Karg initially referred to the Prime Minister as a “terrorist” while criticizing the AIADMK’s alliance with the BJP. However, when pressed by reporters to clarify the context of the remarks, the Congress president said he meant that the Prime Minister was “terrorizing” the democratic fabric of the country.
“He terrorizes people and political parties. I never said he was a terrorist (in the literal sense). He terrorizes this… He abuses his authority and government mechanisms and insults and slanders opposition parties,” Karji said.
How did the BJP react?
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla criticized Mallikarjun is out for his “terrorist” remarks. Speaking to ANI, Poonawalla said Karg’s statements show that Congress is all about ‘samvidhan ka apman’.
“The statement made by Mallikarjun Kharg clearly shows that Congress is not ‘Muhabbat ki Dukan’. All that is going on is ‘Samvidhan ka Upmaan’ and ‘Navrat ki Bhaijaan’… Today, we are in that period where we are mourning the victims of Pahalgam. It has been one year. They are the ones giving a clear message to terrorists, yet the Prime Minister-elect is being called a terrorist… This was not a slip of the tongue. There is no clarification. This will work on Sonia Gandhi’s request,” he said. And Rahul Gandhi.”
Union Minister Piyush Goyal also demanded an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
“I am ashamed that the Congress and the DMK have stooped so low that they are insulting the Prime Minister, who was democratically elected by the people of India, by calling him a terrorist,” Goyal said on X programme.
Demanding an apology from Gandhi and Stalin for this “blatant insult” to the Prime Minister, he said that Congress and DMK have insulted 140 crore Indians, including our 8 lakh Tamil brothers and sisters, with this statement.
“This unholy alliance is effectively branding Indians as terrorists by targeting the Prime Minister. Such personal attacks against the Prime Minister will not reflect their electoral fate which has already been sealed by the anger of the people who have suffered from their misrule,” he added.
BJP IT chief Amit Malviya also took to X and posted a series of comments attacking the Congress.
“Congress is crossing a dangerous line! Mallikarjun Karg, in broad daylight, calls Prime Minister Modi a ‘terrorist’, not in some clamor in a closed room, but on stage, with cameras rolling. This is not dissent. This is not criticism. This is a live Pakistani echo chamber wearing the badge of the Congress. When the party leader calls the Prime Minister of India, the man who crushed terrorism at its roots, a terrorist, it has become official and he said that ‘the enemy within is no longer fighting PM Modi, they are fighting India, and he has fallen.’ The mask again,” and described the statements as “rude.”
“The words chosen by Congress president Mallikarjun Karge for Prime Minister Modi today are not only condemnable but also reflect the mindset of the Congress party. Karge has called him a terrorist,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.
Patra refused to clarify Kharge and alleged that the Congress president deliberately called the Prime Minister a terrorist at the behest of Rahul Gandhi.
“This was not a slip of the tongue. It is deliberate. Although they are giving a clarification, it is a deliberate conspiracy by the Congress,” the BJP MP said in a video message.
