Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 28: To square up the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge allegedly calling the prime minister Narendra Modi a “poisonous snake,” a BJP star campaigner and party member of the outgoing Karnataka Assembly on Friday termed the Congress leader Sonia Gandhi a “vish kanya” (poisonous maiden).
Both the BJP and the Congress have landed on the doors of the Election Commission of India demanding ban orders on some of their rival campaigners on different grounds. A BJP delegation demanded the ECI to bar Kharge from further campaigning in the Karnataka elections and file an FIR against him, the Congress delegation sought banning on campaigning by the union home minister Amit Shah and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath for their alleged anti-Muslim statements.
Training guns on the Congress over its President M Mallikarjun Kharge’s ‘venomous snake’ barb at Modi, Amit Shah on Friday said the party and its leaders “have lost their minds.” Noting that Modi is welcomed across the world with a lot of respect, he said the Congress cannot instigate people with such statements, because the support for the PM will increase, as much as they abuse him.
“Congress is lacking on issues. In the last nine years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased India’s pride in the world, he has worked to make India prosperous, he has made India’s infrastructure strong, and he has made India’s borders safe. Wherever Modi ji goes across the world, people there welcome him with ‘Modi-Modi’ slogans,” Shah said.
But in the face of the BJP attacking Kharge for his objectionable comments against Modi, which the Congress leader later clarified to be directed against the BJP and not personally against Modi, the BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal described Sonia Gandhi as a visha kanya (venomous woman) in a bid to counter Kharge’s ‘poisonous snake’ remark against Modi. Yatnal is the BJP candidate for the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections from Vijayapura, and is in the list of star campaigners of the party.
Addressing a campaign rally at Yelburga in Koppal district on Friday, Yatnal said, “Mallikarjun Kharge called Narendra Modi a cobra… He is a senior man and I have respect for him. How should he, president of the Indian National Congress, address the Prime Minister of India? Is Sonia Gandhi, who you heavily depended on, a visha kanya [poisonous maiden]? He (Modi) is compared with a cobra and is called venomous. Is Sonia Gandhi, whom you go dancing about in your party, a vishakanya? Sonia Gandhi who ruined the country and works as an agent of China and Pakistan,” Yatnal charged.
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, who led the BJP delegation to the ECI, accused Congress of breaking the norms. “Congress is full of grudges against the Prime Minister,” he said. The BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh said Kharge was a “habitual offender”. He demanded that FIR should be registered against the Congress president.
The Congress delegation including Abhishek Singhvi, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Mukul Wasnik, met the chief election commissioner and the election commissioners, and requested the poll body to ensure a level-playing field in the state. The delegation alleged that Shah and Adityanath made “false”, “partisan” and “communal” statements during the poll campaign in Karnataka with a view to seeking electoral gains, and demanded that they be not allowed to campaign in the state. They said the Election Commission should immediately take action against these leaders.
Addressing a public meeting at Navalgund in Dharwad district, Amit Shah on Friday said, “Congress President Kharge (Mallikarjun Kharge) says our leader (PM) Modi, whom the whole world respects and welcomes, is like a venomous snake. I want to ask you, can you make the Congress party, which has compared Modi to a venomous snake, victorious in the election? ”
“The same Congress gives the slogan ‘Modi teri khabar khudegi (Modi, your grave will be dug)’, Sonia Gandhi says ‘Maut Ka Saudagar (merchant of death)’, Priyanka Gandhi says ‘neechi jati ke log’ (people of low caste), and he (Mr Kharge) says ‘Vishela Sanp’ (venomous snake). Congress people, you have lost your minds. How much ever you abuse Modi, lotus will bloom,” Shah said.
The Karnataka state Congress president D.K. Shivakumar hit out at the BJP for Yatnal’s remark about Sonia Gandhi and demanded an apology from Modi and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai for allegedly ‘insulting Sonia Gandhi.’ He urged BJP president J.P. Nadda to expel Yatnal from the BJP.
The Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said about the “vish kanya” remark that the party would utilise all legal options available before it, including moving the Election Commission. “It is a very derogatory and gutter-level remark against Sonia Gandhi…. We will use all legal options including the EC,” he said.