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Mallikarjun Kharge and PM Narendra Modi (Images: PTI)
Party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the Congress which stood for orthodox Islamic practices like triple talaq, halala and hijab is now making all kinds of baseless remarks about the Hindu society.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit out at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for calling the former a “party of terrorists”, saying the opposition party has made a habit of insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its true character has been revealed.
Tearing into the Congress over the remarks, party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the Congress which stood for orthodox Islamic practices like triple talaq, halala and hijab is now making all kinds of baseless remarks about the Hindu society. This is the design of the urban Naxal mindset that PM Narendra Modi talks about.
Another spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that the grand old party is the “most anti-Dalit party”.
“Insulting people is the Congress’ identity. Crores of people have voted for the BJP in 2014, 2019 and now in 2024. This (the ‘party of terrorists’ remark) is an insult to the people’s wisdom but the Congress has made it a habit. They put ‘parivar tantra’ (family system) about everything else. For their Haryana defeat, they have blamed EVMs, the Election Commission and then the people.” he said.
“Now they are saying that the people have elected terrorists. They have always used this kind of language abusing PM Modi and the Other Backward Classes… now they are abusing people. This shows the character and the DNA of Congress. And the Congress is talking about Dalits… what have they done with Kumari Selja in Haryana? They are looting funds meant for Dalits in Karnataka. The Congress is the most anti-Dalit party,” he added.
What Kharge Said?
The Congress President triggered a row on Saturday after he said that the BJP is a party of terrorists. He also accused those in the saffron party of “lynching and beating” people, and committing atrocities against SC/STs.
He was responding to PM Modi and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ remarks that Congress was run by “urban naxals” – a term used by the BJP and others on the right to refer to people that, they claim, want to weaken India.
“He (Modi) has always been saying it, even now he is saying it. Till now he was silent, after getting a bit of life now, he is saying urban Naxal. He calls intellectual and progressive people urban Naxal, he calls Congress too (as urban Naxals), this is his habit,” Kharge said in response to a question on Modi’s comments.
Addressing the press, Kharge said, “His (Modi) own party is a party of terrorists, they are involving in lynching, beat people, urinate in the mouths of people from scheduled castes, rape tribal people. His party is a terrorist party, they support people indulging such acts, then they blame others.” “Modi has no right, wherever his party-led government is there, atrocities happen there on scheduled class people, especially on tribal people. Then he (Modi) says injustice is happening. Is the government ours (Congress) ? It is your (BJP) government, you can control. But Modi’s habit is to speak. He speaks less about country and people, more about party,” he added.
What PM Modi said about Congress
Kharge’s remarks come in response to Prime Minister Modi’s attack on Congress during a rally in Jammu on September 28, where Modi accused the opposition party of being influenced by “Urban Naxal sympathisers” and appeasing foreign infiltrators for electoral gains.
(With inputs from agencies)
