Kharge snubbed during Priyanka's nomination filing? BJP shares clips that contradict event photos

Slamming the Congress for alleged disrespect of party president Mallikarjun Kharge, the BJP on Wednesday shared videos of Kharge peeping through the gate at the time they claimed Priyanka Gandhi was inside with her family filing her nomination papers for Wayanad.

"Where were you @kharge Saheb ? when first family Priyanka Vadra ji was filing her nomination as Cong candidate for #Wayanad Kept outside - bcoz hes not family.🤮🤬(sic)," Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote on X.

Calling out the grand old party as the "Sonia Party", Chandrasekhar questioned if this was how the party treated senior Dalit leader & party president, "how they will treat people of Wayanad".

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also shared the video and asked if the family took pride in "humiliating those they treat as mere rubber stamps".

"It’s deeply disheartening to witness the disrespect shown towards a veteran Parliamentarian and Dalit leader like Shri @kharge Ji by the so-called Holy Trinity in Wayanad today," Sarma wrote.

"Congress stands exposed on Dalits after people saw video clips showing the treatment meted to Mallikarjun Kharge during Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's nomination..."

“Rahul Gandhi indulges in drama and pretends that they respect Dalits, but the way Kharge ji was treated, it is clear that Congress treats Dalits as untouchables and third-class citizens," Sarma, who is also the co-incharge of assembly elections in Jharkhand, was quoted as saying by PTI.

He also said that “what happened to Kharge ji is self-explanatory”.

The Assam CM is scheduled to participate in the nomination process of BJP leaders later in the day.

However, in the photos shared of the nomination filing, the Congress President could be seen sitting right next to Priyanka Gandhi.

Congress leader and candidate for the upcoming Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll Priyanka Gandhi Vadra files her nomination, in Wayanad, Kerala.

This comes as the Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday filed the nomination for her maiden electoral battle from Wayanad for the Lok Sabha bypoll as she took out a massive roadshow in Kalpetta.

Priyanka also said that she was deeply grateful to Kharge for giving her the "privilege" of being the UDF candidate from Wayanad and "it is my honour to represent you (people of Wayanad), if you give me a chance".

This is not the first time the saffron party has slammed the Congress for its "dynastic politics". In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that 'dynastic politics' was a 'big danger'' for the country and that the youths of the country suffered the most at the hands of the 'dynasts'.

Modi said that previous governments only encouraged dynasts and indulged in appeasement and that was the reason why Varanasi could not develop during their tenure. ''Our government believes in sanka saath sabka vikas and it does not discriminate on the issue of development,'' Modi had said in Varanasi.

(With PTI, DHNS inputs)