Days after taking over as the new Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of spreading lies every day which could ''destroy the country'' in the long term. Joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Hyderabad, Kharge said the Congress will give a non-BJP government to the country under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.
The veteran leader took a sarcastic jibe at Modi, saying the Gujarat Assembly polls announcement was delayed as the prime minister has to inaugurate more bridges like the one that collapsed in Morbi.
The Election Commission has already announced the dates for Himachal Pradesh Assembly election and an announcement for Gujarat polls is likely to be made soon. The Congress has alleged that the ECI is "intentionally" holding back the announcement of poll dates, so that Modi can inaugurate or dedicate projects to the state to woo electorate.
“PM Modi is touring Gujarat for the last six days. Poll schedule for Himachal Pradesh is released but the poll schedule for Gujarat is not yet released as Modi has to inaugurate many more bridges there like the one that collapsed in Morbi,” he said, referring to the Sunday's mishap.
The Sourashtra town witnessed a major disaster on Sunday evening when a suspension bridge across the Machchhu river collapsed, resulting in the death of at least 135 people. A case has been lodged against the firms tasked with the maintenance and operation of the British-era structure while nine persons have been arrested.
The tragic incident has put the ruling BJP in a fix with the opposition parties demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
While paying tribute to those killed in the accident, Kharge had said on Monday that the reasons for the collapse of the bridge that reopened just five days ago, ought to be known. "Why were so many people allowed. There should be an inquiry headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge," he had said.
'KCR working in tandem with BJP'
The Congress chief exuded confidence that the party will come to power at the Centre after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He also alleged that Modi had failed to keep the promise of two crore jobs made to them in run-up to the 2014 elections.
Kharge also took a swipe at the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, pointing out that it had extended support to some bills in parliament, which were opposed by the opposition parties.
"Whenever we used to oppose any bill in Parliament, they (TRS) used to support the BJP. But they still say that they will bring a non-BJP government. If anybody has to bring non-BJP government, it is us who will form a non-BJP government under Rahul Gandhi's leadership," Kharge said.
He further accused Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao of ignoring the welfare of the people of the state while eyeing a national role for himself. “If you are against the BJP, why did you support them on the farm laws? He (KCR) claims to be in favour of a non-BJP government, but is working in tandem with them,” he alleged.