Karnataka Election 2023: Kharge likens PM Modi to ‘poisonous snake’, BJP lashes out

Karnataka Election 2023: Congress president M. Mallikarjun Kharge on April 27 likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a poisonous snake, drawing the BJP's ire. Addressing a public meeting at Ron in Gadag district, he said: "Don't make a mistake. Modi is like a poisonous snake."

With the Karnataka elections just around the corner, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a "poisonous snake" while speaking at a rally in Kalaburagi on Thursday.

“Understand this correctly… Modi like a poisonous snake. Do not taste to test if it is poison or not… If you taste it, you are dead. You may think that it is not poison because a good man like Modi gave it to you… but if you taste you will sleep forever,” the Congress chief said.

However, when asked about the statement afterwards, Kharge gave a correction when speaking with the media. He said: “It wasn’t meant for PM Modi. What I meant was that the BJP’s ideology is 'like a snake'. I never said this personally for PM Modi. What I said was that their ideology is like a snake and if you try to touch it, your death is certain.”

However, BJP leaders slammed his statement severely. BJP IT department chief Amit Malviya, who also shared the video where Mr. Kharge made those comments, on Twitter, wrote: "Now Congress Presidnet Kharge calls Prime Minister Modi ‘poisonous snake’… What started with Sonia Gandhi’s ‘maut ka saudagar’, and we know how it ended, the Congress continues to plummet to new depths. The desperation shows Congress is losing ground in Karnataka and knows it."

Union Minister Anurag Thakur remarked, speaking to the media in Shimla, "Congress named Mallikarjun Kharge the party president, but nobody considers him that. He thus considered issuing a statement that is harsher than that made by Sonia Gandhi in order to detract attention from the Gandhis."

He added, “Politicians should keep in mind that the people of India has voted PM Modi to power twice and such statements are an insult to the country."

On May 10, the 224-member state Assembly will vote. The Assembly elections will include a total of 2,615 candidates (2,429 men, 185 women, and one transgender person).