Mumbai: Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress, on Saturday leveled accusations at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that his election speeches are sowing discord among the populace and fracturing societal cohesion.
Kharge made these assertions during a media briefing organized by the INDIA coalition, attended by prominent figures such as Sharad Pawar, the chief of the NCP (SP), and Uddhav Thackeray, the president of Shiv Sena (UBT). The opposition coalition convened an electoral gathering in the metropolis on the preceding day.
“Never before has a prime minister, akin to Modi, engaged in such inflammatory rhetoric. He espouses democratic principles vociferously but fails to uphold the essence of democracy,” Kharge remarked.
In response to queries regarding PM Modi’s insinuation that the Congress intends to raze the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and reinstate Article 370 if the INDIA bloc assumes power, Kharge retorted, “We have never resorted to bulldozing anyone. Modi has a penchant for falsehoods and stoking public ire over actions the Congress neither contemplates nor are feasible.”
When pressed about his party’s stance on Article 370, Kharge rebutted, “I do not owe Modi any explanations. We shall fulfill the commitments delineated in our manifesto.” He continued his censure of the PM, asserting, “Wherever he traverses, he endeavors to sow dissension and espouses the narrative of societal fragmentation.”
Kharge further alleged that PM Modi initially likened the Congress manifesto to that of the Muslim League, only to later brand it as Maoist. He reassured that the reservations safeguarded by the Constitution shall persist, impervious to interference.
Thackeray, addressing the gathering, prophesied, “The era of ‘Achche din’ shall commence from June 4, when the government led by the INDIA bloc ascends to power.” He added, “PM Modi labels us ‘nakli’ (counterfeit) Shiv Sena today; tomorrow, he may extend the same epithet to the RSS as ‘nakli Sangh’.”
Alleging that the BJP endeavors to obfuscate crucial issues such as employment by propagating a narrative of ‘Pakistan flags in our rally,’ Thackeray posited. Pawar articulated that the paramount obligation of the forthcoming government under the aegis of the INDIA coalition would be to safeguard all places of worship across the nation. Kharge underscored that, if elected, the government of the opposition coalition shall overhaul the extant GST framework to institute a simple, single-rate system. “While we conceived the Food Security Act, PM Modi appropriates credit for the provision of free rations,” he lamented.