On Wednesday, All India Congress Committee Presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge seemed mock the Islamist occasion of Muharram while in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Kharge was in the city to appeal to the Congress leaders to vote in his favour in the upcoming party presidential elections. Kharge made the Muharram reference when the media asked him whether the grand old party would field him or Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial face in 2024.
To this, Kharge said, “There is a saying “Bakrid mein bachenge to Muharram mein nachenge”. First, let these elections get over and let me become president, and then we’ll see. The remarks were strongly condemned by the BJP who said that the veteran leader had insulted the Muslims by mocking the Islamist occasion of Muharram.
#WATCH| Bhopal, MP | There is a saying “Bakrid mein bachenge toh Muharram mein nachenge”. First, let these elections get over and let me become president, then we’ll see: Congress presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge when asked who would be the PM’s face, Rahul Gandhi or he. pic.twitter.com/wvtCPqDlIH
— ANI (@ANI) October 12, 2022
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla shared Kharge’s video and said, “Firstly, Muharram is not a celebration but a mourning! This is highly insulting to Muslims. The statement made by Kharge is highly objectionable”. He further stated that Muslims across the globe never celebrate Muharram. “It is not a month of celebrations. It is a month of sorrow and a month of mahtaam (mourning). Therefore, to say that there will be naach-ganaa in Muharram is extremely objectionable”, he added.
Congress’ first family chosen proxy president nominee was asked who will be the PM candidate of Congress in 2024
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) October 12, 2022
His reply, “बकरी ईद मे बचेंगे तो मोहर्रम मे नाचेंगे ।”
Firstly Muharram is not a celebration but a mourning! This is highly insulting to Muslims
Secondly- pic.twitter.com/I8cSY8aqXO
“But more importantly is the importance of this politically loaded statement for Rahul Gandhi and the truth that Mr Kharge himself has disclosed about the position of the Congress party which is getting extinct state after state”, he was quoted.
Kharge meanwhile on October 12 also said that the biggest challenge before the nation was that the BJP government was trying to damage the Constitution. “Autonomous bodies are being weakened and misused. I am contesting these polls to protect the Constitution and our democracy. To fight BJP from the streets to the Parliament”, he said.
Before that, the veteran leader had also rubbed off the rumors that the Gandhi family was extending support to him in the ongoing party’s presidential election. “Someone has spread this rumor to defame the Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, and me. She has clearly stated that she will not participate in the party elections nor will she come in support of any candidate”, he noted.
The All India Congress Committee will elect its President on October 17. Shashi Tharoor, a Lok Sabha MP, and Mallikarjun Kharge, a Rajya Sabha MP, are both competing for the top post. Both leaders are presently touring the states, pleading to Congress leaders to vote in their favor to ensure their success.
