Chennai, April 21(IANS) Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday clarified his controversial remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that his comments were misinterpreted and that he did not intend to call the Prime Minister a “terrorist.”

Addressing a press conference here, Kharge said his statement was meant to highlight what he described as an atmosphere of fear and intimidation under the current government.

“I did not mean that Modi is a terrorist. What I meant was that people are being terrorised, and institutions and agencies are being used to intimidate them,” he clarified.

The Congress chief alleged that key institutions, including investigative agencies, were functioning under political pressure, thereby weakening democratic norms.

He further claimed that the Election Commission was not acting independently and accused it of behaving like an “extension office” of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Kharge also raised concerns about what he termed as serious violations of the Model Code of Conduct by the Prime Minister during the ongoing election campaign. He said such actions undermine the fairness of the electoral process and called for stricter enforcement of election rules.

On the issue of women’s reservation, he reiterated that the Congress has consistently supported the legislation. However, he accused the Centre of attempting to link the bill with the delimitation of constituencies.

“The Congress had earlier approved the Women’s Reservation Bill and had demanded that it be implemented across all 543 Lok Sabha seats. What we opposed was not the bill, but the attempt to bring in delimitation alongside it,” he said, adding that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was spreading misinformation on the opposition’s stance regarding the bill.

Kharge claimed there were attempts to influence Members of Parliament through inducements to secure support for the legislation. The Congress chief also accused the Centre of using “money power, muscle power, and investigative agencies” for political advantage.

He asserted that such practices were aimed at weakening opposition parties and consolidating power.

Expressing confidence ahead of the elections, Kharge said the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led alliance would return to power in Tamil Nadu. He added that the ruling dispensation at the Centre was apprehensive about growing opposition unity, which, he claimed, was why efforts were being made to create divisions among rival parties.

–IANS

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