BJP's Shehzad Poonawalla slammed Mallikarjun Kharge's 'terrorist' remark on PM Modi as a 'well-thought-out experiment' by Rahul Gandhi. Kharge clarified he meant the PM 'terrorises' opponents, prompting an ECI notice to the Congress President.
BJP Hits Back at Congress
BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Friday said that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's "terrorist" remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a "socha samjha prayog" (well-thought-out experiment), instructed by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Saying that Congress is "nafrat ke bhaijaan" (brothers of hatred), Poonawalla accused the opposition of "justifying" the remarks on PM and even trying "to play the victim card".
Speaking with ANI, Poonawalla said, "This is called 'first you err, then you're brazen about it'... The entire world has heard what Kharge has said, that he used the word terrorist for an elected Prime Minister. Rather than being apologetic and taking that back, they're defending, justifying, playing the victim card and diversion card. And they're trying to blame the Election Commission." "It shows Congress is defending the statement because Rahul Gandhi has instructed Kharge to make this statement... This is not 'sanyog' (coincidence), this is a 'socha samjha prayog' (well-thought-out experiment). They are 'nafrat ke bhaijaan' (brothers of hatred), not 'mohabbat ki dukaan' (shop of love)," he added.
Kharge's Remark and Clarification
Kharge sparked a controversy on the last day of Tamil Nadu election campaigning, when the Congress president criticised the AIADMK for supporting the BJP and labelled PM Modi a "terrorist who does not believe in equality".
When questioned on the choice of words, Kharge defended himself, claiming that he meant to say that the PM was terrorising his political opponents. "He (PM Modi) is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist. What I mean, I want to clarify, is that Modi always threatens. The institutions like ED, I-T and CBI are in his hands. He wants to take delimitation also into his hands," Kharge said.
EC Issues Ultimatum
The ECI on Wednesday issued a stern 24-hour ultimatum to Mallikarjun Kharge, demanding an explanation for his controversial remark directed at Prime Minister Modi during the high-decibel Tamil Nadu Assembly election campaign.
On Thursday, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI) for giving only 24 hours to Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge to respond to the charges levelled against him "We would like to express our surprise at the short amount of time given to the Congress President to reply to the charges levelled against him in the Notice, i.e. 24 hours. You would have been aware that this is certainly not sufficient time given that the Congress President is in the middle of multiple campaigns," he wrote. He further asked the ECI for more time to file a detailed response within a week. (ANI)
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