Priyank Kharge, a former Karnataka minister and the son of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, has launched another personal attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Monday, May 1, Kharge, while campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly elections, called PM Modi nalayak.
This comes right on the heels of the controversy courted by his father Mallikarjun Kharge, when he compared the Prime Minister to a poisonous snake.
Priyank was criticising the Prime Minister for his handling of the SC community reservations when he made the offensive remark. Priyank is running for reelection from Chittapur in the Kalaburagi district for the upcoming May 10 Assembly elections.
“When you (PM Modi) came to Gulbarga what did you tell the people of Banjara community? ‘Aap sab log dariye mat. Banjara ka ek beta Dilli mein Baitha hai’ (Do not be afraid. A son of Banjara is sitting in Delhi.),” said Priyank quoting from Modi’s speech.
“Aisa nalayak beta baitha to kaise hota bhai? Ghar kaise chalega? (If such a worthless son is sitting in Delhi, how can you run the family?)”, he said while addressing the people.
He continued saying that despite being a son of Banjara community, Modi has created confusion regarding the reservation. “Didn’t injustice happen to the Banjara community? Why were stones thrown at Yediyurappa’s house in Shikaripura (in Shivamogga district)? Why Bandh was observed in Kalaburagi and Jewargi observed? Today there is confusion in the reservation,” he added.
Kharge also said that Modi sometimes calls himself son of Koli community and sometimes he says he belongs to Banjara community. “Prime Minister during his earlier visit said he was a son of the Koli community and the Kabbaliga and Kuruba communities. Today he calls himself a son of the Banjara community,” said Kharge who has worked as a former minister in the Siddaramaiah government.
This comes days after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called PM Modi a poisonous snake. He made these remarks in a speech he gave in Kalaburagi of Karnataka in a public meeting arranged as a part of the campaigning for the state’s assembly elections.
Mallikarjun Kharge said, “PM Modi is like a ‘poisonous snake’, you might think it’s poison or not. If you lick it, you’re dead.” Mallikarjun Kharge also enacted licking as he mentioned it in his speech.
#KarnatakaAssemblyElections2023 | PM Modi is like a 'poisonous snake', you might think it’s poison or not. If you lick it, you’re dead…: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in Kalaburagi pic.twitter.com/Bqi7zVFnO9
— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2023
The BJP administration adopted a measure to increase the Scheduled Castes (SC) reservation quota from 15 to 17 percent towards the conclusion of its term.
BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje took cognizance of the ‘nalayak’ remark and slammed the Congress leader. “The Congress president said in a campaign speech that Prime Minister Modi is a poisonous snake. Now, his son has gone a step further, calling him a ‘nalayak beta’. Priyanka Gandhi called PM Modi Hitler. Congress should know that he is not the BJP’s PM but of entire India. The people of Karnataka love him. They have shown their respect for him (duing roadshows) in the last two days,” she said.
Prime Minister Modi also strongly criticized the Congress for calling him a poisonous snake and confidently stated that the people of Karnataka will respond fittingly to the grand old party in the upcoming Assembly elections.
