Lok Sabha Elections: All India Congress Committee chief Mallikarjun Kharge has written a letter to Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi, accusing him of ‘quoting words out of context to create communal divide’.
In his two-page letter, the Congress chief said he is neither “shocked” nor “surprised” by the language used by the prime minister in his recent speeches and advised PM Modi not to get carried away. “Do not get carried away by your own people who are clapping at your speeches. They are not allowing you to hear the crores of right thinking citizens who are disappointed by your speeches.”
The letter to PM Modi follows the BJP leader’s scathing remarks, where he alleged that the gold and Mangalsutra of Hindu families are not safe under Congress rule. PM Modi also alleged that the Congress would “redistribute the wealth among Muslims”, citing a 2006 speech by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared the letter, addressed to “Dear Pradhan Mantri Ji”, on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter). “Mallikarjun Kharge would be happy to meet him (PM Modi) to explain the reality of the Congress NyaycPatra which Mr. Modi may have missed in his persistent efforts to distort and defame it,” Ramesh posted on X.
“You are being misinformed by your advisors about things that are not even written in our manifesto. I would be more than happy to meet you in person to explain our ‘Nyay Patra‘ so that, as prime minister of the country, you don’t make any statements that are false,” Kharge wrotes in the letter addressed to PM Modi.
“Your ‘suit-boot ki sarkar’ works for the corporates whose taxes you reduced, while salaried class pays higher taxes. The poor pays GST even on food and salt and rich corporate claim GST refunds”, Mallikarjun Kharge claimed in the letter to PM Modi.
“That is why,” he wrotes, “When we talk of inequality between the rich and the poor, you are purposely equating it with Hindu and Muslim.”
Pertinently, the Congress approached Election Commission of India on Monday and formally lodged a complaint seeking action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On Thursday, the poll body took cognizance of the violation of the Model Code of Conduct by Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi and sought a response from the Prime Minister by 11 AM on April 29.
“The only available remedy compatible with the principle of zero tolerance towards allegations of corrupt practices, is the disqualification of the candidates who try to create a divide between different classes of the citizens of India regardless of the stature or position of that candidate,” the Congress said in its memorandum submitted to the poll body.
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Published: 25 Apr 2024, 04:21 PM IST