New Delhi, March 31: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge today said that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) represents and symbolises India’s spirit of “unity in diversity”. He warned that the BJP and the RSS were like a poison and they cannot even be tasted for test, as that can prove fatal.
Addressing the ‘Save Democracy’ mega rally organized by the ‘INDIA’ bloc at the Ramlila Maidan here today, Kharge exhorted for unity and called upon the alliance partners to fight together in the national interest.
He said, the alliance partners may have certain differences at the local and state levels, but they are together when it comes to defending and safeguarding the national interest.
The Congress president maintained that the 2024 General Elections are to decide the future of the country whether the democracy will survive or dictatorship will thrive under Modi. “Modi believes in dictatorship and not in democracy”, he remarked.
Accusing the BJP government of denying the level playing field to the opposition parties, he pointed out how all the bank accounts of the Congress party had been frozen just at the time of elections and how the opposition leaders were being intimidated and two Chief Ministers had been arrested. He asked, why the government could not do all this, if it really needed to do so, six months before or after the elections.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks that Modi was trying to fix these elections like the match fixing in cricket, Kharge said, he (Modi) was also queering the pitch for his political opponents.
Pointing out how the investigating agencies were being misused against the opposition parties, he disclosed that the Congress party has recently been served with notices by the Income Tax demanding a penalty of Rs 3567 crores for a mere violation of Rs 14 lakhs.
He alleged that these were Modi’s ways of intimidating the opposition parties and even forcing some parties for alliance with his party. He disclosed that when the Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren refused to join the NDA, he was put behind the bars.
The Congress president reiterated that his party will not be intimidated or ‘arm twisted’, pointing out how it had fought against the British to win independence for the country. And to save that freedom, he added, the Congress leaders had sacrificed their lives.
He pointed out, Prime Minister Ms Indira Gandhi had taken 32 bullets on her chest, while Rajeev Gandhi’s body was torn into pieces for defending and safeguarding the unity and integrity of the country. He asked the BJP and the RSS what they had done for the country.
Kharge warned that the BJP and the RSS were like a poison and they cannot even be tried or “tasted” for once. He said, like nobody can try or taste the poison even once as it can cause certain death, he said, BJP and RSS deserve no more chances as they will prove to be fatal for the country.