'Why Is Himanta Bothered?': Kharge Reacts To Assam CM's 'If He Wants To Join BJP' Remark

Reacting To Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s “no need to meet PM Modi unless he intends to Join BJP” remark, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said, “Why is he (the Assam CM) bothered?” When asked about Himanta’s remark on Kharge, in a press conference in Guwahati, the Congress chief said he asked to speak to Modi (the Prime Minister), not the CM.

“I have spoken to Modi, not the CM. I am the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha. I was also in Lok Sabha. So, I have little competence in Parliamentary affairs. So, who is my opponent in Parliament? Modi. So, I will speak to Modi. Why is he (Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma) bothered? Let him face our people here and then speak about me,” Kharge said.

Kharge’s statement came after he penned a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking time to explain the manifesto of the grand old party, as he mentioned in his letter that PM Modi might be misled by his advisors regarding the content of the manifesto’s content.

Sarma, in a firm response, remarked, “PM Modi can comprehend both English and Hindi very well, the languages in which Congress’s manifesto is drafted. We (BJP) are saying whatever is written in the manifesto. Why should there be a supplementary communication?” He questioned the need for Kharge’s meeting with PM Modi unless he intended to join the BJP.

They Think India Got Independence After 2014: Kharge Slams BJP

Speaking at a press conference, Kharge said, “Congress is a party of those who made India independent. BJP never fought for the independence of India, for the development of India. We built this country.”

Further lashing out at the BJP, the Congress chief said, “He (PM Modi) did not implement even one of what he said (electoral promises). Still, he says that Modi did a lot of work for the country. They (BJP) speak so much about patriotism that Nehru is nothing before them, Indira Gandhi is nothing before them and Lal Bahadur Shastri is nothing before them – Modi is everything.”

“They even put the idea that India attained independence after 2014 and the country was not independent before that – all of these are reflected in his words. What is sad is that those who were nurtured by the Congress party and became leaders also say the same,” he added.

Hitting out at leaders who recently defected to BJP, Kharge said, “If Congress was so bad, why did you spend 30-40 years of your life on it unnecessarily?…I don’t know what has happened to them, but they too criticise Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi”.