THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is acting like a “petty politician”, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. Modi is targeting the Congress after becoming apprehensive of invisible voters following the first round of voting, he told reporters at Indira Bhavan.
The Congress president demanded to know why Modi should be bothered about the grand old party of India if it is not a force to reckon with.
“Modi is so frustrated. I have travelled across 10-12 states for campaigning and have been getting very good reports from the public and voters alike. I want Modi to read our country’s history and learn how to keep the country united,” Kharge said.
Referring to Modi’s hate speech in Rajasthan, Kharge recalled that B R Ambedkar was the youngest among fourteen siblings and RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav has nine children.
“So, is it a particular community which has got maximum children? How can Modi say so? This is highly deplorable. He is also trying to garner votes by talking about mangalsutra,” Kharge said.
UDF’s Thiruvananthapuram and Attingal candidates -- Shashi Tharoor and Adoor Prakash -- also attended the press conference. It may be recalled that Kharge and Tharoor had fought each other in the Congress presidential election. Eulogising Tharoor, Kharge did not spare his fellow politician from Karnataka, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the NDA candidate in Thiruvananthapuram.
“Tell me about one contribution Rajeev had made to Karnataka when he was an MP from there for 18 years. Kerala is supposed to be an ideal state. The people of Karnataka told Rajeev that enough is enough and asked him to prove his mettle in his home state, which saw him coming to Thiruvananthapuram. Tharoor has not only been a national figure but an international personality, an excellent speaker in Parliament where we used to request him to speak about international affairs,” Kharge added.
Though Kharge did not campaign for Tharoor and Adoor Prakash, they were closeted in his hotel room ahead of the press conference.