In a dramatic address in Haryana’s Kaithal, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala “cursed” the voters of the BJP calling them “rakshas” (demons). Kaithal is the same constituency where Surjewala had lost by around 500 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
#WATCH | In Kaithal, Haryana, Congress MP Randeep Surjewala says, "…Those who vote for BJP and are BJP supporters are of 'raakshas' (demons) tendency. I curse from this land of Mahabharat…"
— ANI (@ANI) August 14, 2023
(13.08.2023) pic.twitter.com/IGuouzalbS
Surjewala, while addressing the “Jan Akrosh” rally, at the Uday Singh fort in the district, Surjewala sparked controversy by hitting out at those voting for the BJP.
“Demons of the BJP and JJP, you are demons. Those who vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party and those who support the Bharatiya Janata Party have demonic tendencies. I curse from the land of Mahabharat today,” Surjewala said.
The BJP in a scathing retort has said that the same Surjewala had called Afzal Guru as Afzal Guru ji. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said, “Congress has crossed all its limits. Randeep Surjewala, who calls ‘Afzal Guru’ as ‘Afzal guru ji’ and his party members calls ‘Osama’ as ‘Osama ji’, has started abusing Indian voters now. Congress party says on foreign land that democracy has died and ‘Bharat Mata’ has been murdered.”
#WATCH | BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala says, "Congress has crossed all its limits. Randeep Surjewala, who calls 'Afzal Guru' as 'Afzal guru ji' and his party members calls 'Osama' as 'Osama ji', has started abusing Indian voters now. Congress party says on foreign land that… https://t.co/INpUOR3U5s pic.twitter.com/swQTNesfN1
— ANI (@ANI) August 14, 2023
“Now Randeep Surjewala has said that voters who vote have the nature of demons. So now he’s calling at least 23 crores, who vote BJP as the demon. Citizens are a form of god in democracy, but Congress is calling them demons. This shows that Congress is living in which arrogance, they abuse the position of PM, OBC, democratic institutions, and now they have abused the citizens,” he added.
The Congress leader had uploaded some clippings from the address on his Twitter account. The video, which now appears deleted on Surjewala’s Twitter, is now viral all over the internet.
Shameless @rssurjewala calls people who vote for BJP 'राक्षस'
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 13, 2023
Till now Congress and Rahul abused PM Modi, now they have started abusing Public too.
Same public voted for Congress for 70 years. But when they voted for development and against corruption, they became Rakshas? pic.twitter.com/wYplyGYvDt
It is not precisely clear if Surjewala’s statement resulted from his defeat in 2019 to BJP candidate Leela Ram in the same constituency which he had won in 2014 and 2009.
Randeep Singh Surjewala last made headlines when he was seen in Bengaluru attending an official government meeting. Surjewala, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary, reportedly attended an official meeting in Bengaluru which was presided over by the deputy chief minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar. The meeting was organised to discuss the upgrading of infrastructure in Bengaluru.
Moreover, he has been known to make controversial statements in the past. In May this year, Surjewala cited “various sources” alleging that Indian Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were being deployed in South Africa and then used for Karnataka polls without re-validation and re-verification. The allegations were shot down by the Election Commission.
