BENGALURU: Referring to the proposed ban on Bajrang Dal if Congress comes to power, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge said Congress is clear in its manifesto that decisive action as per law will be taken against anyone promoting enmity or hatred.
He said, “We are against all kinds of fundamentalism. Visit my earlier constituency, Gurmitkal from where I was elected eight times consecutively. I had ensured that we build a Hanuman temple in every village.”
Asked if his venomous snake comment against PM Narendra Modi will affect Congress’ prospects adversely in the Assembly polls, he said, “I have been in public life for almost 60 years and have consistently fought against the divisive ideology of BJP and RSS. My attack and fight are never personal. I was referring to the polarising and divisive ideology BJP and RSS and clarified it in the next rally. People of Karnataka and elsewhere understood it. But the PM chose to cry about it instead of talking about issues Kannadigas are battling with. Modi’s attempt to use it for political mileage didn’t work.’’
Asked if the party is scared about Operation Lotus poach ing Congress MLAs after the poll and whether that was the reason party senior leader Rahul Gandhi demanded a large majority instead of a simple majority, he said, “No Congressman or woman is scared. The word fear doesn’t exist in our party workers’ dictionary – and certainly not in Rahulji’s. We are asking for a comfortable majority so that the government remains stable and we can roll out all our poll promises.’’
DKS: I’m a Vokkaliga, blood thicker than water
Predicting that Congress will win 141 seats, KPCC president DK Shivakumar in an interview with TNIE said the party has to abide by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s decision on CM’s post. Asked about Old Mysuru, he said, “I am a Vokkaliga, and blood is thicker than water.”