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‘Didn't call PM Modi terrorist, he is facilitating terrorism’: Mallikarjun Kharge after uproar
Mallikarjun Kharge accused PM Narendra Modi of using CBI and other agencies to “scare people” and defeat them in elections.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday clarified his “terrorist” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that he didn't call him a terrorist in a literal sense but in a way that he is “ trying to silence people”.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has written to the Election Commission, complaining about the “grossly derogatory remarks” against PM Modi.
Speaking to reporters in Karnataka’s Kalburgi, Kharge accused PM Modi of using CBI and other agencies to “scare people” and defeat them in elections.
"I did not speak against the PM. The PM is terrorising politicians, candidates and regarding this, I said that tax terrorism is happening, ED is conducting raids, Income Tax Dept is conducting raids, and CBI is conducting raids. This terrorism is being facilitated by the PM. I did not call him a terrorist; he is facilitating terrorism to scare people. He is trying to silence people through raids and attempting to defeat them in elections. This is what I said in Chennai," Kharge told ANI.
BJP knocks on EC's door
The BJP wrote a letter to the Election Commission, complaining about Mallikarjun Kharge's remarks.
“Describing the country’s tallest political leader and leader of the world’s largest party and candidate for electoral purposes as a “terrorist” is a form of extreme personal vilification wholly inconsistent with the standards of General Conduct, and is a gross violation of the MCC,” the letter reads.
The letter also claimed that the remarks amounted to an offence under BNS Section 175, prima facie undue interference with free electoral choice under Sections 171 and 174, and prima facie defamation under BNS Section 356(1).
What did Mallikarjun Kharge say about PM Narendra Modi?
Earlier in a press conference in Chennai, Mallikarjun Kharge attacked PM Narendra Modi, accusing him of "terrorising" political parties and people by misusing government machinery and central agencies to stifle the opposition.
Speaking alongside AICC General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, Kharge initially referred to the prime minister as a "terrorist" while criticising the AIADMK's alliance with the BJP. However, when pressed by reporters to clarify the remark's context, the Congress chief said he meant the prime minister was "terrorising" the country's democratic fabric.
"He is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist (in the literal sense). Terrorising this... he is misusing his power and government machinery and abusing, malingering opposition parties," Kharge said.
How the BJP reacted
BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla criticised Mallikarjun Kharge over his "terrorist" remarks. Speaking to ANI, Poonawalla said that Kharge's statements show that the Congress is all about "samvidhan ka apman".
"The statement made by Mallikarjun Kharge clearly shows that Congress is not 'mohabbat ki dukan'. They are all about 'samvidhan ka apman' and 'nafrat ke bhaijaan'... Today, we are in that period where we are mourning the victims of Pahalgam. One year has passed. They are the ones who give a clean chit to terrorists, and yet the elected Prime Minister is called a terrorist... This was not a slip of the tongue. No clarification will work. This has been done at the behest of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi", he said.
Union minister Piyush Goyal also demanded an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin.
"I feel ashamed that the Congress and the DMK have stooped so low that they are insulting the Prime Minister, who is democratically elected by the people of India, by calling him a terrorist," Goyal said on X.
Demanding an apology from Gandhi and Stalin for "this downright insult" to the Prime Minister, he said the Congress and DMK have humiliated 140 crore Indians, including our 8 crore Tamil brothers and sisters, with this statement.
"This unholy alliance is effectively calling Indians terrorists by targeting the Prime Minister. Such personal attacks against the PM won't reverse their electoral fate that has already been sealed by the anger of the people who have suffered their misrule," he added.
BJP IT chief Amit Malviya also took to X and posted a series of comments to attack the Congress.
"CONGRESS CROSSES A DANGEROUS LINE! Mallikarjun Kharge, in broad daylight, calls PM Modi a 'TERRORIST', not in some closed-room rant, but on stage, with cameras rolling. This isn't opposition. This isn't criticism. This is straight-up Pakistan's echo chamber wearing a Congressi badge. When a party president labels India's Prime Minister, the man who crushed terror at its roots, a terrorist, you've officially become the enemy within. Congress isn't fighting PM Modi anymore. They're fighting India, and the mask is, yet again, off," he said while terming the remarks "crass".
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "The words Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge chose for Prime Minister Modi today are not only condemnable but also reflect the mindset of the Congress party. Kharge called him a terrorist."
Patra rejected Kharge's clarification 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's deliberate. Even though they are offering a clarification, it is a deliberate conspiracy by the Congress," the BJP MP said in a video message.
