Following Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s “Ravan” statement to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a new political dispute has arisen. The veteran Congress leader made the comments on Monday in Ahmedabad, just days before the crucial Gujarat assembly elections.
During the rally, Kharge said that Modi keeps aside his duties and work as the prime minister, and keeps campaigning in “corporation, MLA, MP elections”.
“In all these campaigns, he (Modi) only talks about himself. ‘Don’t look at anyone else, just look at Modi and vote’. How many times do we have to see your face? How many forms do you have? Do you have 100 heads like Ravan?” Kharge said amidst laughter and cheers from the audience.
On Twitter, the grand old party posted a video of the incident.
Bhupendra Patel, the chief minister of Gujarat, took issue with the remarks made by the Congress leader.
Taking to Twitter, he said that “bereft to any development agenda and support from the people” of the state, Congress is “out to abuse Gujarat and Gujaratis”.
“The statement made by Kharge ji against PM Narendra Modi ji is testimony to their hate for Gujaratis. People of Gujarat will reject them this time too for such behaviour,” Patel tweeted.
Amit Malviya, the IT cell head of the BJP also fired back at Kharge saying that he lost “control over his words” owing to not being able to “take the heat of Gujarat election”.
“Unable to take the heat of Gujarat election, pushed to the fringe, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge loses control over his words, calls Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘Ravan’. From ‘Maut ka Saudagar’ to ‘Ravan’, Congress continues to insult Gujarat and it’s son…,” Malviya’s tweet read.
The “maut ka saudagar (merchant of death)” phrase was referred to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s comment over the 2002 riots during the 2007 Gujarat assembly elections, in which she had targeted Modi – who was then the chief minister of the western state.
Sambit Patra, the national spokesperson for the BJP, echoed Malviya when he claimed that in addition to insulting the son of Gujarat, Kharge’s remark had also deeply hurt every Gujarati.
“It is an appeal to all Gujaratis that the party whose president has insulted Modi should be taught a lesson. Gujaratis should come out of their homes in a democratic way and take revenge by voting against Congress,” he said during a press conference earlier in the day in Delhi.
Gujarat, which is governed by the BJP, will vote on December 1 and December 5 in two phases. On December 8, the results will be declared and the votes will be counted. The Congress party is seeking to win back support in Gujarat in the upcoming assembly elections. The state has been viewed as a BJP stronghold for more than two decades.
