New Delhi: Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday alleged that the saffron party was misleading people through inciting speeches, slogans that divide and spreading wrong information about his party.
He was addressing a press conference in Nagpur ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls that is to take place on November 20. Kharge pointed out that the BJP was involved in “baatna and kaatna” (dividing and slaughtering) — while referring to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s slogan “batenge to katenge”.
He asked the BJP to choose between Adityanath’s divisive slogan and the recent call for unity given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “While Yogi says, ‘Batenge toh katenge,’ Modi coins a conflicting slogan, ‘Ek hain toh safe hain (If we’re united, we’re safe).’ I ask the leaders to decide whose slogan should be followed — Yogiji’s or Modi’s?”
‘Inciting division, misinforming the public’
The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said that the BJP should decide whether it intends to divide or unite the people. He added that the leaders of the ruling party focus only on inciting division and misinforming the public, while downplaying urgent matters like unemployment, the agricultural crisis, and deteriorating law and order situation.
Kharge came down heavily on BJP leaders for allegedly misleading people by stating that the Congress-led Karnataka government failed to deliver its poll promises. He pointed out that appropriate financial allocations were made for each of the guarantee schemes rolled out by the party in the southern state.
Kharge appealed to the voters not to trust the BJP, which he said was a party full of liars, and give mandate to the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra. He also accused the BJP of copying his party’s guarantee schemes and making similar announcements in election-bound states as part of its campaign rhetoric. “Everything is jumla. The BJP speak things for the sake of polls, while the Congress always works for people’s welfare,” he said.
