Karnataka elections: Kharge remark row heats up, Shah steps up attack on Cong
Noting that Modi is welcomed across the world with a lot of respect, Shah said the Congress cannot instigate people with such statements, because the support for the Prime Minister will increase, as much as they abuse him.
The Congress party and its leaders have lost their mind, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Friday, as he attacked the Opposition party over its president Mallikarjun Kharge’s “venomous snake” barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Noting that Modi is welcomed across the world with a lot of respect, Shah said the Congress cannot instigate people with such statements, because the support for the Prime Minister will increase, as much as they abuse him.
“Congress is lacking on issues, in the last nine years Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased India’s pride in the world, he has worked to make India prosperous, he has made India’s infrastructure strong, he has made India’s borders safe,” Shah said while addressing an election rally at Navalgund in Karnataka’s Dharwad district. “Wherever Modi ji goes across the world people there welcome him with ‘Modi-Modi’ slogans.”
Referring to Kharge’s barb at Modi during a poll rally in Kalburgi district on Thursday, Shah said: “Congress president Kharge says our leader Modi, whom the whole world respects and welcomes, is like a venomous snake… I want to ask you, can you make the Congress, which has compared Modi to a venomous snake, victorious in the election?”
The Union minister added: “The same Congress gives the slogan ‘Modi teri kabar khudegi’ (Modi, your grave will be dug), Sonia Gandhi says ‘Maut Ka Saudagar’ (merchant of death), Priyanka Gandhi says ‘neechi jati ke log’ (people of low caste), and he (Kharge) says ‘Vishela Samp’ (venomous snake), Congress people, you have lost your mind. How much ever you abuse Modi, lotus will bloom.”
{{/usCountry}}The Union minister added: “The same Congress gives the slogan ‘Modi teri kabar khudegi’ (Modi, your grave will be dug), Sonia Gandhi says ‘Maut Ka Saudagar’ (merchant of death), Priyanka Gandhi says ‘neechi jati ke log’ (people of low caste), and he (Kharge) says ‘Vishela Samp’ (venomous snake), Congress people, you have lost your mind. How much ever you abuse Modi, lotus will bloom.”
{{/usCountry}}By abusing Modi, the Congress cannot instigate the people of Karnataka, Shah further said. “If you abuse Modi, support for him will increase.”
{{/usCountry}}By abusing Modi, the Congress cannot instigate the people of Karnataka, Shah further said. “If you abuse Modi, support for him will increase.”
{{/usCountry}}Addressing a rally in Kalburgi district ahead of the May 10 Karnataka assembly elections, Kharge on Thursday likened PM Modi to a venomous snake. “Don’t make a mistake. Modi is like a venomous snake. If you say, no, it’s not poisonous, let’s lick it and find out, don’t go to lick it. If you lick, you die,” Kharge had said.
{{/usCountry}}Addressing a rally in Kalburgi district ahead of the May 10 Karnataka assembly elections, Kharge on Thursday likened PM Modi to a venomous snake. “Don’t make a mistake. Modi is like a venomous snake. If you say, no, it’s not poisonous, let’s lick it and find out, don’t go to lick it. If you lick, you die,” Kharge had said.
{{/usCountry}}Facing mounting criticism, he later backtracked his statement and said his intention was not to hurt anyone’s feelings and that he was referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the party’s ideology in his remark.
Meanwhile, a BJP delegation on Friday urged the Election Commission of India to register a criminal case against Kharge and bar him from campaigning in the assembly elections. Polling for 224-member Karnataka legislative assembly will be held on May 10 and counting of votes on May 13.
Union minister Bhupender Yadav, who led the BJP delegation, told reporters in New Delhi that Kharge’s comment was not merely a “slip of the tongue” but part of the Congress’s “hate politics”. BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh called Kharge a “habitual offender”.
The BJP has demanded the registration of a first information report (FIR) under Sections 499 and 500, which deal with defamation, and Section 504 (deliberate insults and provocation) under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Meanwhile, the Congress urged the Election Commission on Friday to ban Shah and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath from campaigning for the Karnataka assembly polls for their alleged derogatory statements against the minority community that create an atmosphere of communal disharmony.
A delegation of Congress leaders, including Abhishek Singhvi, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Mukul Wasnik, submitted a memorandum in this regard to the EC.
The delegation alleged that Shah and Adityanath made “false”, “partisan” and “communal” statements during the poll campaign in Karnataka with a view to seek electoral gains, and said they should be banned from campaigning in the state.
The Congress accused Shah and Adityanath of trying to create an atmosphere of communal disharmony in Karnataka by circulating unverified, false, malicious and communally-charged allegations in their poll speeches.
“The ECI should impose a clear and complete ban on Amit Shah from all campaign activities till the conclusion of the election and further direct a ban on circulation of the videos of the rally with offending portions,” a memorandum signed by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Randeep Surjewala said.
Talking to the reporters, Singhvi said, “ We complained specifically about the highly objectionable, blatantly partisan, communal and false statements coming from the top BJP leadership, in particular Shah and Adityanath”.
“They have made statements clearly against the minority community.... We have asked for a ban on campaigning by such persons.”
It comes a day after Congress leaders complained to the police against Shah for his alleged statement earlier this week that if their party won the upcoming elections, then Karnataka would be “afflicted with riots”, and claiming that the Union minister said it with the clear intent of disrupting the communal harmony in the state.
(With PTI inputs)