Bengaluru, April 22 (IANS) Karnataka BJP has demanded that AICC President, Mallikarjun Kharge, immediately apologise for allegedly referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “terrorist,” stating that he is unfit to hold the position of Congress President.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday, Leader of the Opposition, R. Ashoka, said that Prime Minister Modi has served the longest tenure and questioned AICC President Kharge’s remarks targeting his patriotism.

He noted that earlier too, when Prime Minister Modi was mocked as a “chai wala,” it eventually turned into a campaign in his favour, adding that such criticism has only benefited the BJP.

He alleged that Congress leaders were making such statements out of fear that they will never return to power. He further said Kharge, who he described as being in a “retired state” and unable to move around actively, should be expelled from the party.

Ashoka claimed the entire country knows who the real “traitors” are.

He alleged that during the cooker bomb blast incident in the state, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had referred to the accused as “brother.”

He also alleged that supporters of a close aide of Kharge had raised pro-Pakistan slogans inside the Vidhana Soudha.

He criticised Kharge for not responding to these incidents or speaking about Pakistan. He demanded that Kharge apologise to the people of the country and announced that BJP legislators in Bengaluru would stage a protest in front of Vidhana Soudha on Thursday against the statement.

Ashoka claimed that the BJP is gaining strong support in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, while the Congress is facing imminent defeat. He said the BJP would win in Assam and West Bengal, and that pre-election survey reports have left Congress leaders disillusioned.

He alleged that they are resorting to insulting Prime Minister Modi to divert attention from their impending defeat.

He also referred to raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate on properties linked to Congress MLA N.A. Haris’ family and questioned why no chargesheet has been filed even after three years of investigation into the Bitcoin scam. He demanded an explanation from Home Minister G. Parameshwara.

–IANS

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