On 30th September, Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for declaring that “he would not die away before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is removed from office”, calling it a “bitter display of spite.” A day earlier, Kharge had become unwell during a campaign event in Jammu & Kashmir. He fell ill during a public rally in the Kathua district.
Amit Shah criticised him for the statement and posted, “Yesterday, the Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge Ji has outperformed himself, his leaders and his party in being absolutely distasteful and disgraceful in his speech. In a bitter display of spite, he unnecessarily dragged PM Modi into his personal health matters by saying that he would die only after removing PM Modi from power.”
Amit Shah asserted that the remark illustrated “how much hate and fear these Congress people have of PM Modi, that they are thinking of him constantly.” The union minister then added, “As for the health of Mr Kharge Ji, Modi Ji prays, I pray and we all pray that he lives a long, healthy life. May he continue to live for many years and may he live to see the creation of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.”
Yesterday, the Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge Ji has outperformed himself, his leaders and his party in being absolutely distasteful and disgraceful in his speech.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 30, 2024
In a bitter display of spite, he unnecessarily dragged PM Modi into his personal health matters by…
Kharge suffered a syncopal attack, however, he resumed his speech after a small pause and announced, “We will fight to restore statehood. I am 83 years old, I am not going to die soon. I will stay alive until PM Narendra Modi is ousted from power.” He asked the people for forgiveness, explaining he wanted to continue the speech but had to sit down because he was feeling lightheaded. A syncopal attack, also known as fainting, is a brief loss of consciousness that occurs when there’s a temporary drop in blood flow to the brain.
The incident happened as he was paying respects to a senior constable who was killed in an anti-terrorist operation in Kathua. In a statement, Jammu and Kashmir Congress vice president Ravindra Sharma claimed that Kharge was profoundly affected when he discussed the martyrs. “His emotions momentarily got the better of him, but he quickly composed himself to strongly reaffirm his party’s unwavering resolve to eliminate terrorism from the region.”
Kharge further criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party during the rally and claimed, “These people never wanted to conduct the elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Had they intended, they would have done it within a couple of years. They started preparing for elections only after the order of the Supreme Court. They (BJP) wanted to run a remote-controlled government via the lieutenant governor.”
Kharge’s son and minister in the Karnataka government, Priyank Kharge and other party leaders informed that he is now stable after a check-up by doctors. The local Congress leaders also assured that Kharge was in good health and was determined to go to Ramnagar for a second rally. Notably. PM Modi talked to Kharge on 29th September to check on his well-being and wished him good health.
The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing an assembly election for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 on 5th August 2019. The first phase of polls took place on 18th September and the second phase ended on 25th September. The third and the last phase is scheduled on 1st October and the result will be declared on 8th October.
