New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah lashed out at the Congress on Tuesday, saying the president of the opposition party, Mallikarjun Kharge, “breached every standard of public conduct” and “brought shame to the nation” by calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “terrorist”.
In a post on X, Shah said, “Every day, the Congress is hitting new lows in its demeanour, breaking its own record in lowering the standard of public discourse.” “Today, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Ji breached every standard of public conduct and brought shame to the nation by calling the elected Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi Ji, a terrorist. This insult to the foremost leader of the nation is an insult to the millions of people who love and support Modi Ji,” he added.
The home minister said calling a leader like Modi, who has completely curbed terrorism in the country in the last 12 years, a terrorist is highly condemnable.
“Every time the Congress hurls abuses at Modi Ji, it is the people of India who answer them. This time too, the people will respond,” he said.
Kharge on Tuesday accused Modi of “terrorising” political parties by misusing the government machinery and central agencies to stifle the opposition, triggering strong reactions from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which attacked the opposition leader for calling the prime minister a “terrorist”.
Addressing a press conference in Chennai alongside Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, Kharge initially referred to Modi as a “terrorist” while criticising the AIADMK’s alliance with the BJP.
Questioning how the AIADMK — a party rooted in the Dravidian ideologies of Periyar and C N Annadurai — could justify partnering with Modi, Kharge said, “How these AIADMK people, who themselves put the photo of Annadurai … how can they join Modi? He is a terrorist…. He does not believe in equality. His party will not believe in equality and justice. And these people are joining them, which means that they are weakening democracy.” However, when asked by reporters to clarify the context of his remarks, the Congress president said what he meant was that the prime minister is “terrorising” the democratic fabric of the country.
“He is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist (in the literal sense). Terrorising this … he is misusing his power and the government machinery and abusing, malingering opposition parties,” Kharge said. PTI ABS RC
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