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Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi hit out at Kharge over ‘poisonous snake’ remark against PM Modi
Many BJP leaders and union ministers expressed sharp reactions over Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's ‘poisonous snake’ remark against PM Modi.
Clueing into the latest controversy in Karnataka, many BJP leaders and union ministers expressed sharp reactions over Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge's ‘poisonous snake’ remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
Kharge was addressing a public gathering in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi when he said, “PM Narendra Modi is like a poisonous snake. Now if you want to test a venom because I compared him with a poisonous snake, beware it will lead to your death.”
This evoked strong rebuttal from the ruling party, with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan saying that Kharge "used such words to appease his political masters".
READ | 'Desperate…': BJP slams Kharge over 'Modi poisonous snake', Cong chief clarifies
"Kharge ji used such words to appease his political masters. He must have been under some compulsion," he said.
Another Union Minister, Nityanand Rai, also hit out at Kharge, saying that the Congress party is a “habitual offender to defame the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and the PM”. "First, Rahul Gandhi spoke derogatory words for the backward society. Now Mallikarjun Kharge has used objectionable and indecent language like 'poisonous snake' for the Honourable Prime Minister," he said.
"Kharge ji, Congress party have sown poison. The poison of division in the society, the poison of partition of the country, the poison of corruption in governance, the poison of dynasty in politics - all these are the poisons sown by the Congress," Rai added.
READ | ‘Kharge’s mind is poisonous': CM Bommai slams Cong chief
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi also condemned the Congress chief's remarks and asserted that the people would teach the grand old party a lesson. “It's highly condemnable. People will teach them a lesson. I demand an unconditional apology from Kharge. I would like to remind Kharge and his bosses that whenever they try to insult Modi ji, people have given them a befitting reply,” he said.
Kharge later clarified that he did not mean to attack PM Modi personally. “My comments are not meant for PM Modi. I called the BJP ideology poisonous, not attacked PM Modi personally. What I said was their ideology is like a snake and if you try to touch it, your death is certain," he had said.
(With ANI inputs)
