Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday termed the ideology of the RSS and the BJP “poisonous” and remarked that people would die soon if they consumed it.
Speaking after participating in a function held to mark the birth anniversary of Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram at the Congress office here, he said, “The RSS and BJP are like poison. If you taste them, you will die.” He appealed to people not to support the BJP in the coming byelections in Karnataka and in the Assembly elections in other States.
The Congress leader said the saffron party was neither respecting the Constitution nor the idea of democracy by following divisive politics to secure in various States.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh, Mr. Kharge said Mr. Modi went to Bangladesh and “told lies about his participation in the freedom struggle” of that country. “He should have also said that he participated in the freedom struggle of India,” Mr. Kharge scoffed.
In Bangladesh, Mr. Modi had said, “I must have been 20 or 22 years old when my colleagues and I took part in a satyagraha for the freedom of the people of Bangladesh. I tell this to the people of Bangladesh with great pride.”
Mr. Kharge alleged that the Prime Minister and the BJP had sidelined leaders such as L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi citing their age of over 75, but had now fielded E. Sreedharan, who is over 85, in the Assembly elections in Kerala. “Why does the BJP follow different policies for different persons?” he asked.
Senior leaders took part in the function and paid floral tribute to the Dalit leader.
