Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his participation in a 'Bhajan clubbing' event in the Capital on Friday, alleging the latter has time for such events but not to answer “serious questions”.
The BJP subsequently hit back at Kharge, accusing his party of insulting Indian heritage.
What the Congress leader said
Kharge questioned PM Narendra Modi's presence at the ‘Bhajan clubbing’ event, saying that while the Prime Minister has time for this, he is silent on questions surrounding the Election Commission.
Deep Dive
What is the significance of the term 'Bhajan clubbing' in Indian political discourse?
Why is the opposition calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar?
How has the Election Commission responded to allegations of unilateral decision-making?
"PM @narendramodi has time for 'Bhajan Clubbing', but no time to answer serious questions about the clubbing of democracy through the Election Commission," he posted on X.
Kharge added that PM Modi has been avoiding questions for 13 years.
{{/usCountry}}Kharge added that PM Modi has been avoiding questions for 13 years.
{{/usCountry}}"For 13 years, there has been a familiar pattern: when difficult questions confront the government, the Prime Minister is conspicuously absent from answering them. Celebrations get his presence. Accountability gets his silence," the Karnataka home minister added.
BJP’s response
The BJP accused the Congress leader of mocking and insulting India's heritage of "bhajan" and "bhakti".
"Congress once again mocks and insults Bharat's remarkable civilisational heritage of Bhajan and Bhakti. What better can you expect of Junior Kharge, who is only conversant with singing praises of the self-serving Congress first family," BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan wrote while sharing a screenshot of Kharge's X post.
Kesavan asked Kharge to question the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over the party's losses in “3 Lok Sabha elections and suffering nearly 100 Assembly drubbings”.
"Does Junior Kharge have even an iota of courage to talk about clubbing accountability of Rahul Gandhi with Congress party's dismal electoral failures, because under Rahul Gandhi's dismal leadership, the Congress party has lost 3 consecutive Lok Sabha elections and suffered nearly 100 Assembly drubbings," the BJP spokesperson said.
The row on EC
The opposition has been demanding the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation in the wake of an Indian Express investigation, which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge.
The objections included changes to statutory voter registration Form 6 and the centralisation of control over the electoral roll database, according to the report.
Congress workers staged demonstrations across several states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur, against the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the SIR exercise. Other opposition outfits have also announced protests.
The Election Commission, however, has asserted that its official orders, decisions and administrative directions have full legal sanction, and that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations within any institution.
What is ‘Bhajan clubbing'?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took part in ‘Bhajan clubbing’, a modern trend in which youngsters gather in concert-like settings to sing, clap, and dance to Hindu devotional songs.
The event was organised opposite the BJP national headquarters in Delhi on the 110th birth anniversary of RSS ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay.
Held in a club-like atmosphere minus the alcohol, Bhajan clubbing is catching on in many Indian cities and abroad.