The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday asked the Election Commission to take “strictest action” against Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge for calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “terrorist”, reported PTI.
On Tuesday, while criticising the All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Kharge had said, “How can [the AIADMK] join with Modi…He is a terrorist”, The Hindu reported.
The Congress leader made the comments in Chennai on the last day of campaigning for the Tamil Nadu elections to be held on Thursday. The votes will be counted on May 4.
Kharge later said that he had not called the prime minister a terrorist but said that he was “terrorising” Opposition leaders.
“I said that tax terrorism is happening, the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax department and the Central Bureau of Investigation are conducting raids,” he told ANI.
He added: “This terrorism is being facilitated by the prime minister. I did not call him a terrorist...he is scaring people. He is trying to silence people through raids and attempting to defeat them in elections.”
On Wednesday, a delegation of BJP leaders, including Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, met the Election Commission, reported PTI.
Speaking to reporters later, Sitharaman, who was part of the delegation, described Kharge’s remarks as “outrageous”.
“It is an insult to the mandate given by the people of India,” the finance minister was quoted as saying. “More importantly, it is an insult to the entire system where people choose their leader through elections, and once chosen, he is the leader for the entire country.”
She added: “We have demanded that the Election Commission take the matter in all seriousness. We requested the poll panel to act firmly and sternly.”
Rijiju said that the BJP delegation had “demanded that Kharge and the Congress be directed to apologise to the country”, reported PTI.
He added that the poll panel had assured it would take “appropriate action” in the matter.
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