An assassination plot has been hatched to kill Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife and the entire family by a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, the party general secretary and the official in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged on Saturday, PTI reported.
At a press conference in Bengaluru, the Congress leader played an audio clip in which BJP’s Chittapur candidate Manikanta Rathod can purportedly be heard saying in Kannada that he will “wipe out Kharge, his wife and children”.
The development comes four days ahead of the voting in the Karnataka Assembly elections. Rathod, 26, is contesting the polls against the Congress chief’s son and sitting MLA Priyank Kharge from the Chittapur constituency.
Rathod faces 40 criminal cases and is involved in crimes such as attempt to murder, illegal transportation of rice, drugs and narcotics smuggling, being in illegal possession of firearms and criminal intimidation, The Indian Express reported.
In November, he was arrested for threatening Priyank Kharge. After he was released on bail, he had said at a press conference that he was ready to shoot him down.
At Saturday’s press conference, Surjewala described Rathod as the “blue eyed boy” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
“Instead of presenting a vision of development for Karnataka, the pathetic state of the BJP is that they coin one ugly polarising issue a day to somehow save their skins from answering for the 40 per cent corruption [allegations],” he added. “Even these abusive and divisive tactics of the BJP are sinking without a trace. Now, they are using assassination plots as their last weapon.”
Rathod rejected the Congress’s allegations and claimed that the audio clip was fake, PTI reported. “The Congress is leveling baseless allegations fearing defeat,” he added.
But Bommai promised to conduct an inquiry to ascertain the authenticity of the audio clip. “We will take it seriously and get it investigated,” he told reporters in Hubballi.
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