Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge
Congress President Mallikarjun KhargeFile Photo | Shekhar Yadav

PM behaving like a puppet in the hands of RSS: Congress President Kharge

M Mallikarjun Kharge was speaking after unfurling the national tricolour at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office on the occasion of Republic Day.
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BENGALURU: All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun M Kharge on Friday accused RSS and BJP of conspiring to distort the Constitution. He termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “puppet in the hands of RSS”, and appealed to the people of the country to vote Congress to power to protect the Constitution, which he felt is under threat under the Modi-led BJP government.

“RSS and BJP are going all out to twist and change the Constitution. BJP is making every effort to reduce the power of our autonomous bodies by destroying them one by one. Modi is acting as a ‘puppet of RSS’, because of which the judiciary and secularism of our country are getting affected,” he said after unfurling the national flag marking the Republic Day celebration at the KPCC office in Bengaluru.

“In today’s situation, both our Constitution and democracy are under threat. There is even more danger to our young generation because of this. The problem of inflation and unemployment is increasing by the day. To prevent this calamity, all of you should give strength to Congress in the coming Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and KPCC president DK Shivakumar release Tricolour balloons, during Republic Day celebrations, in Bengaluru on Friday
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and KPCC president DK Shivakumar release Tricolour balloons, during Republic Day celebrations, in Bengaluru on Friday(Photo | Express)

“While handing over the Constitution, Baba Saheb Ambedkar had said it should be followed properly and everyone should benefit. That means those executing the Constitution should be good, otherwise, the Constitution itself will be bad. What he had said in 1949 is coming true today. Because of the lack of good leaders at the helm of affairs to execute the Constitution,  inequality and imbalance are evident in the country,” he added.

"It was Congress that brought Independence to the country as Mahatma  Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad among others took part in the freedom struggle, he remarked. “Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are trying to keep the freedom we have got in their clutches. Our next generation will survive only if freedom and the Constitution survive. Otherwise, they will be deprived of opportunities in everything,” he cautioned.

“Since the country’s Independence till 2014, the debt of the country was Rs 55 lakh crore, but now the BJP government has borrowed Rs 150 lakh crores in 10 years,” he pointed out.

Stating that B R Ambedkar on January 26, 1949 had spoken about the importance of good people implementing the Constitution, Kharge said, "what he had said then is coming true today, the people who have to implement the Constitution now are not good, so we are witnessing all that is happening in the country now."

Claiming that there is a threat to the Constitution and democracy, the Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka said inflation and unemployment is rising by the day.

State Congress President D K Shivakumar, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other senior party leaders were present.

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"To control this, in the upcoming elections, you will have to take loyal people into the party and strengthen it. It should not be that they join today and quit tomorrow....Think before inducting someone into the party, and checking their background and ideology is important," he said, adding that the Congress is bound by its ideology.

These comments from Kharge came a day after the former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar rejoined the BJP quitting the Congress. He had joined the Congress, quitting the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls last year on not getting a BJP ticket to contest the elections.

Appealing to Congressmen to stay united to protect the Constitution and democracy, he said: "In the upcoming elections too we have to show our unity. This is my suggestion and instruction to you. I'm confident that you will follow it."

(With inputs from PTI)

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