Congress chief Kharge accuses PM Modi of 'murdering' Constitution

Mysuru: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “murdering” the Constitution, asserting that people of the country would not allow the BJP and RSS to alter it.

He was addressing a mega convention organised by the Karnataka government, where development works worth over Rs 2,500 crore for Mysuru were inaugurated and foundation stones laid.

“BJP and RSS are talking about amending or rewriting the Constitution. You may try how much ever you want, the people of this country will not allow you to change the Constitution. If you (people) allow them to change the Constitution, you will not have any rights,” Kharge warned the gathering.

“Modi, you became the Chief Minister and Prime Minister because of the Constitution, you bowed to the Constitution before entering the Parliament, but Modi is today murdering the same Constitution.”

“BJP and RSS are every day making attempts to remove this Constitution,” he added.

Chief Minister Siddaramiah, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar and several ministers of the state government were present at the event.

During his address, Kharge also hit out at the PM for visiting 42 countries, but not conflict-hit Manipur.

“What is the reason? Are you (Modi) afraid of going there? Rahul Gandhi (Congress leader) has visited twice… when people of the country are dying, Modi travels abroad,” he alleged.

Lauding the Siddaramaiah-led government for its development works in Karnataka, the veteran party leader said the BJP only criticises and accused the party of “indulging in corruption”.

“Modi often asks what has the Congress done in the past 55 years. What we have done is before the people, tell us what you have done,” he said.

Alleging that big public sector companies established by the Maharajas and Jawaharlal Nehru were being sold to business tycoons like Adani and Ambani, the AICC chief said they are our assets, built using our tax money, and many people work there.

“Whether it is airport, port, roads, airlines, everything is being sold to the people he (Modi) wants,” he said.

Noting that the Congress has always aimed to empower people financially and socially, Kharge said the grand old party is working continuously without compromising with its ideology.

“We may have lost in a few states, but there are crores of people who still want us to come to power to save democracy and the constitution,” he said.

Mocking Modi’s “Congress mukt Bharat” slogan, he said the PM even said “Abki Bar Charso Par” but (BJP) secured only 240 seats. “Arrogance will make people fall,” he said.

Praising the Congress government’s five guarantee schemes in Karnataka, he said they are popular across the country.

The Congress chief lauded CM Siddaramaiah, Ministers, legislators and party workers for their “collective leadership” in implementing the schemes.

“In my Congress party there are people who perform, while in Modi’s BJP, people only speak or criticise,” he said.

Kharge refuted claims that the Karnataka government was “bankrupt” and asked, “If the government was bankrupt would it have given Rs 50 crore to each MLA for developmental work in their constituencies?”

Urging the Modi government at the Centre to release Karnataka’s share of funds under various schemes, Kharge said, “Give us our money, it is not your money, it is our money paid by us in the form of taxes/GST.”

Pointing to Modi’s recent claim that India is now counted among the top countries where equality is the highest, he said Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that slowly the number of poor people in the country is increasing and the wealth is getting concentrated in the hands of few rich people, this should not happen.

“Who is correct, Modi or Gadkari? Who is to be believed?” Kharge asked, adding that Modi’s only guarantee is “lying”.

What has happened in “Amrit Kaal” of Modi is that one per cent super rich have 40 per cent wealth, while 50 per cent poor have only 6.4 percent of wealth. “Tell me where is development?” the Congress chief asked.

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