‘Why are you scared of INDIA’: Kharge asks Modi

NEW DELHI: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he is being arrogant and scared.

Kharge also taunted him for claiming himself to be the son of a poor man, remarking, “India would be a great and rich place if everyone was poor like you, wearing a coat worth Rs 10 lakhs”.

Addressing the two day national convention of the Mahila Congress, ‘Pratigya Ujwal Bharat Ki’ (Pledge for a Brighter India) organised here today, Kharge exhorted upon the party workers to resolve, come what may you have to get rid of the BJP government which has failed all sections of the society, be they the minorities, the women, the youth, the poor or the students.

Asserting that the Modi was being arrogant and scared at the same time, he said that on the one hand the Prime Minister claims that he alone is enough for the entire opposition by saying, “akela Modi, sab pe bhari”, on the other hand he will keep on crying about the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) by maligning its leaders and accusing it of baseless things.

The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said that if he thought himself alone to be enough to take on the opposition, why was he scared of INDIA and always crying out of fear.

Kharge said: “Modi has often been claiming that he was not being accepted and tolerated by the opposition as he was a ‘poor man’s son’. I wish every Indian were poor like him who could wear a coat worth Rs 10 lakh.

“We have tolerated you enough all these years as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for 12 years and Prime Minister for nine years and still you say you were not being tolerated,” he reminded Modi.

The Congress President also referred to the arbitrary disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as an MP.

“Rahul Gandhi during a campaign speech had mentioned a surname only without naming anyone in particular. For this he was awarded the maximum punishment of two years and within 24 hours he was disqualified.”

On the other hand former party chief Sonia Gandhi forgave the killers of her husband Rajiv Gandhi.

“On the one hand there is a lady and a leader like Sonia Gandhi full of compassion and on the other hand there are leaders who kill and jail people who are merely opposed to them,” he said taking a jibe at the BJP leaders.

Kharge also pointed out how the Modi government was trying to use the central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax and the CBI against the opposition leaders after leveling false and baseless allegations against them.

He said that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and he himself had been summoned by the ED. “But we will not be scared by these things,” he said, adding that the Congress party will not be cowed down and it will keep on fighting.

Making a fervent appeal to the women workers of the party, who included about 4,000 block presidents from across the country, the district and the state presidents, Kharge said, if they resolve to get rid of the BJP, they can teach them a lesson.

He also pointed out that the women had an added advantage, as women voters were one percent more than the male voters.

“It was again the progressive vision and farsightedness of the leaders like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Ambedkar and others who gave women equal right to vote through universal adult franchise right after independence,” he said.

He said that even the developed countries like the United States, United Kingdom and Australia had not provided equal voting rights to women at the time of freedom and they got this right much later.

“A safai-karamchari and a capitalist both enjoy the same right,” he said.