Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge addresses a press conference, in Jammu, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.
PTI
Srinagar: In response to accusations from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah regarding support from Pakistan, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday questioned who had traveled to the neighboring country to enjoy biryani and embrace former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Kharge, who reached Jammu to campaign for Congress candidates in the ongoing assembly elections, said, “Whatever PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have said that Congress wants to resume talks with Pakistan, these are all lies. They want to divert the issue. We never went to eat Biryani and hug him (Nawaz Sharif).”
He was responding to Modi and Shah's statements that "Pakistan and Congress were always on the same page and the party was hand in glove with anti-national forces".
The PM and HM had stated this in reference to Pakistan’s defence minister Khawja Asif recent interview in which he claimed that Pakistan was on the same page with Congress-National Conference on Article 370 and Article 35 A.
Kharge's remarks followed an interview in which Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif claimed alignment between Congress, the National Conference, and Pakistan regarding Article 370 and Article 35A. He emphasized the necessity of the Congress-NC alliance to “remove the BJP from politics.”
While commenting on Congress' alliance with the National Conference (NC) for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, he said that the alliance was necessary to “remove the BJP from politics.”
Addressing concerns about ongoing terror incidents in Jammu, Kharge questioned Modi’s narrative of peace and development in the region and reiterated Congress's commitment to restoring full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
When asked about Modi’s assertion that only the BJP would restore statehood, he challenged, “They are in power at the Centre; why the delay?”
Asserting that they would not be cowed down by the RSS-BJP's poisonous mindset”, Kharge said Congress party would launch an agitation against threats to Rahul Gandhi.
“BJP, RSS leaders, including MLAs and MPs, talk about chopping off the tongues of our leaders. Rahul Gandhi is under attack for speaking the truth and an atmosphere of hate is created against him like (it was done against his grandmother) Indira Gandhi,” he said.
The Congress president criticized Modi for failing to address provocative speeches from BJP leaders, suggesting the Prime Minister is intimidated by them.
He further rebutted BJP accusations that Congress has not made sacrifices for the nation, questioning where Jan Sangh members were during the struggle for independence.
“Many Congress workers died for our freedom, and we remember the sacrifices of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi,” he stated, expressing concern over the BJP's apparent disregard for this history.
Assembly Elections 2024 | In the first assembly polls since the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi and the BJP face a rejuvenated and vindicated Opposition in the Haryana assembly polls. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir is voting after almost a decade and it remains to be seen how the abrogation of Article 370 has impacted the political landscape of the Valley. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.