Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during a press conference on Friday. He said that the Prime Minister always says, “I did, I built”, whereas the country does not run on the strength of any one person. Kharge also said that the Congress party has always respected Sardar Patel and given him equal status to Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
Kharge said, “Thank you for building the statue of Patel, but we should also remember who laid the foundation of Sardar Sarovar. We started it on April 5, 1961. Lakhs of acres of land got water, people’s lives improved. The country is not run by one person. Prime Ministers keep coming and going, leaders keep coming and going, but the country runs due to the efforts of everyone.” Making a personal comment on Prime Minister Modi, he said, “Modi Saheb has a habit of saying, ‘I did, I created.'” Well, you implemented demonetization, lied about creating 2 crore jobs. But why do you take credit for something you didn’t do?”
Kharge talked about the relationship between Sardar Patel and Nehru
Kharge also reacted to Prime Minister Modi’s statement that “Patel wanted the entire Kashmir to remain in India, but Nehru divided it.” Kharge said that Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah accuse Congress of ignoring Patel, whereas Congress always gave due respect to Patel. He said, “Two senior leaders of Gujarat always say that Congress ignored Sardar Patel, but we have read the entire history of his relations with Nehru. Both respected each other.”
Demand to ban RSS again
Responding to a question, Kharge said that Sardar Patel had banned RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami. Today if the same organizations are being allowed to associate with government employees, it is an insult to Patel’s legacy. He said, “If the Prime Minister and the Home Minister respect Patel, then they should also adopt the same path.” The anarchy and law and order problems in the country are due to BJP and RSS. Therefore, I openly say that RSS should be banned again.”
Concern over bureaucracy and democratic institutions
A journalist asked whether today’s bureaucracy and democratic institutions were being influenced by the same ideology that Patel opposed. Kharge responded, “Patel fought for unity and peace in the country. If today anyone tries to break that unity, he should be punished. It was his dream to bring unity in the country.”
Sharp jibe at Modi government
Kharge sarcastically criticized the government’s policies, saying, “You are reviving something that was already dead. This will create discontent in the country. Just like provoking a sleeping snake, the result will be the same. So, there is no need to lick or check these things – the result is death.” What Prime Minister Modi is doing is not good for the country.” At the end of the press conference, Kharge said, “The country does not depend on any one person. Prime Ministers and leaders keep coming and going, but everyone will have to work together for the country. Congress has always worked for national unity and democracy.”
