BJP slams Kharge's Gujarat 'illiterate' vs Keralam 'educated' remark

BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi hit back at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's comment that PM Modi can fool 'illiterate people in Gujarat' but not in Keralam, accusing the Congress party of pursuing a divisive, 'Bharat tere tukde honge' strategy.

BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Sunday slammed Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge over his remarks seeking to draw a comparison between the people in Keralam and in Gujarat and said Congress party has "never done justice to the enlightened people of Keralam".

Kharge's 'Illiterate in Gujarat' Remark

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday sought to make a comparison between people in Keralam and in Gujarat as he attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and said the two leaders "can fool people who are illiterate in Gujarat or in other places" but not in the poll-bound state.

Addressing a rally here, Kharge also accused PM Modi and the Keralam Chief Minister of wanting to keep power centralized in their hands. He said that leaders of the BJP and the ruling Left Democratic Front should not misguide the people of the state. "Don't misguide the people of Keralam. They are very clever, they are educated. Modi ji, Vijay (Pinarayi Vijayan), you both can fool people who are illiterate in Gujarat or in other places, but you can't fool Keralam people," he said.

BJP Hits Back at 'Divisive Strategy'

At a press conference, BJP MP Sudhashu Trivedi said, "If you find the people of Gujarat and other regions less intelligent, then clarify your intentions about Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and all your Chief Ministers and other big leaders of North India..."

'Part of a Deliberate Strategy'

"This statement by the Congress National President, Mallikarjun Kharge, is part of a deliberate strategy by the Congress party, which wants to prove the dream of 'Bharat tere tukde honge, Inshallah". This isn't the first time this statement has been made. Chidambaram had said that if the North hadn't existed, the South would have been far ahead. This is the same Congress party whose Finance Minister in Kharge's state had said that the South pays more taxes and should therefore separate from the North... This is the same Congress party whose Chief Minister of Telangana had made this statement by name regarding the DNA of the people of Bihar...

Congress 'Never Did Justice' to Keralam

The people of Keralam are very enlightened and are now demonstrating their enlightenment. That's why, after 45 years of Left rule in Thiruvananthapuram, the BJP won the municipal elections. The people of Keralam are very educated. That's why love jihad was first recognised in Keralam... The Congress party has never done justice to the enlightened people of Keralam..."

Keralam will go to the polls on April 9 and results will be declared on May 4. (ANI)

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