NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today launched a sharp attack on the Congress party over slogans raised against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the party’s mega rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Sunday.
The controversy erupted after slogans such as ‘Modi terikabarkhudegi’ were reportedly raised at the Congress rally organised to protest alleged ‘vote chori.’ Senior BJP leaders described the remarks as unacceptable and demanded an apology from the Congress leadership.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju flagged the issue, stating that certain remarks made by opposition leaders amounted to publicly articulating violence against the Prime Minister. He called on Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to apologise in Parliament.
He said, “What kind of mindset is it that makes public announcement about killing rivals? If some Opposition leaders speak about killing the PM, it is really unfortunate. Merely condemning is not enough. Congress president and LoP should apologise in the Parliament; they should apologise to the country. I think that if any humanity is left with them and if Congress party wants to give any respect to the country, they should not delay and apologise to the country from the Floor of the Parliament. Only then will we agree that they committed a mistake and Congress party admitted the mistake.”
JP Nadda seeks apology from Sonia Gandhi
Union Minister and BJP president JP Nadda also drew attention towards the sloganeering against PM Modi. He demanded an apology from Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Nadda said the slogans raised at the rally reflected the Congress party’s ‘thinking and mentality.’ He said that saying such things against the Prime Minister is condemnable. Nadda said, “Sonia Gandhi ji should apologise to the nation for slogans raised against PM Modi in the Congress rally yesterday.” He added, “In the Congress rally yesterday, slogans were raised against PM Modi. This shows the Congress party’s thinking and mentality. Saying such things against a Prime Minister is condemnable. Sonia Gandhi ji should apologise to the nation for this.”
Also, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Congress of routinely using abusive language against the Prime Minister. Prasad said it was irresponsible to use such remarks, especially given the Congress party’s long history of producing Prime Ministers.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra further accused the Congress leadership of attacking constitutional institutions, including the Election Commission of India. He alleged that statements made by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi amounted to threats against Election Commissioners and an attempt to malign the country’s electoral process.
Congress leader defends “kabarkhudegi” remark against PM Modi
Meanwhile, Congress leader Manju Lata Meena defended her controversial remark. She said there was widespread public anger over alleged vote rigging and accused the BJP and the Election Commission of undermining democracy. Standing by her statement, Meena said her intent was to highlight public grievances, alleging that key issues such as employment, youth welfare, women and farmers were being ignored.
She said, “There is so much anger among the public regarding vote rigging. They (BJP) have formed these governments by rigging votes, and the Election Commission is also acting according to their instructions. He (PM Modi) doesn’t talk about employment, youth, women, or farmers. He distracts from the issues. I said, ‘Modi terikabarkhudegi, aajnahintoh kal khudegi.’ I stand by it. Our job is to bring the truth before the public…”
Prominent Congress leaders were present at the rally on Sunday, including Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, DK Shivakumar, KC Venugopal, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Gaurav Gogoi.
Agencies