New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) Delhi BJP President Harsh Malhotra has condemned Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s remark against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and asked him to apologise to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or be prepared to face public backlash.
Malhotra quoted Kharge as having said, “They are scared, and a person who is afraid dies sooner or later.”
The Delhi BJP President said that Congress President Kharge frequently uses intemperate language against the BJP government and PM Modi, whereas our leaders have always exercised restraint and refrained from using inappropriate words against him, respecting his age.
Malhotra added that Kharge, who accuses the BJP government of being afraid, should explain what the actions of Congress governments in the past amounted to.
“If preparing to handle a protest is a sign of fear, then what was the opening of fire on protesters during the cow slaughter protest in 1966? What was the imposition of the Emergency in the country? What was the opening of fire on farmers protesting at Rajpath in 1988? And what was the installation of barbed-wire barricades, the use of tear gas, and cane charges in 1990 and again in 1993 to prevent kar sevaks from proceeding towards Rajpath following the Vishva Hindu Parishad’s call?” the Delhi BJP Chief asked.
He said that Kharge should explain that if the BJP government’s arrangements to handle a protest on Saturday amount to fear, then the Congress government must have been frightened on countless occasions, as it even resorted to firing on protesters.
The Delhi BJP President said that it would be better for Kharge to apologise to the Prime Minister for his remarks or be prepared to face public backlash.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that public participation in CJP protest on Saturday was negligible, while the hypocrisy of CJP leaders and Aam Aadmi Party Convenor Arvind Kejriwal once again came to the fore.
The Delhi BJP spokesperson said that CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke had announced Saturday’s protest two weeks in advance, but he himself did not take to the streets.
“Instead, he misled 500 to 700 young people and compelled them to court arrest.”
Kapoor said Dipke deliberately boarded a flight from Mumbai only after arrests had begun in Delhi and, upon landing in Delhi, staged a “five-star arrest” after arriving by air.
“If Dipke and his associates were genuine protesters, they would have quietly come to Delhi and courted arrest along with their workers, rather than staging a “five-star arrest” drama after arriving by air,” he added.
The Delhi BJP leader said that the protest had once again exposed Kejriwal’s falsehoods.
“Yesterday, Kejriwal had said that he would reach Jantar Mantar with his family this morning. However, neither any member of his family nor any party worker turned up. He himself left home in the evening instead of the morning and did not reach Jantar Mantar,” Kapoor added.
“Kejriwal, who once swore on his children that he would never support the Congress but later joined hands with the party, did not bring his own family to the protest but instead misled ordinary young people and sent them to face the police,” he said.
–IANS
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