'PM's morale shaken, swagger diminished': Mallikarjun Kharge attacks Modi over Rajya Sabha speech

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Rajya Sabha speech, claiming he is “scared” of answering questions posed by Rahul Gandhi and avoids sitting in Lok Sabha, as his “morale is shaken” and “swagger diminished” following revelations in Gen MM Naravane's memoirs and Epstein files.

Alleging that Modi was twisting statements to accuse Congress leaders of wanting to dig his grave, Kharge said they were only saying that they would “bury your ideology” and it was not about a person. He said Modi did not refer to a single issue during his 97-minute speech in reply to the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in Rajya Sabha.

He also referred to Speaker Om Birla’s statement that he asked Modi not to come to Lok Sabha to reply to the debate as he had “concrete” information about targeting Modi in the House and alleged that instead of answering in Parliament, Modi was using the pretext of intelligence reports to avoid it, displaying a “disturbed mindset”.

Referring to a series of Modi’s remarks, including his attack on late Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said, “this reflects Modi-ji’s mindset. It seems his morale is shaken, the swagger and talk of a ‘56-inch chest’ have diminished. He arrogantly says that he alone outweighs everyone. Making such remarks is not good for the country or befitting of his office.”

“If a person in the Prime Minister's position uses abusive language against democracy and the country, that's not a good thing. Narendra Modi is afraid of what questions Rahul-ji will ask, what he will say, what facts he will present, so Modi-ji doesn't even sit in the House,” Kharge said.

Kharge claimed that the government should have responded to the claims in Gen MM Naravane's unreleased memoirs and ended the matter but instead, it is stalling Parliament, which is a “failure of democracy”. This government does not want the House to function democratically, he alleged.

“When we got hold of Gen Naravane's book, how could those in power not have it?...I want to tell them: first, listen to the truth, then reply. The truth is that Modi doesn't have the courage to answer the questions we have asked. The real issue is that the Prime Minister seems disturbed. I read in newspapers about the Epstein files...but after those reports surfaced, it appears Trump pressured him. He then knelt and signed a trade deal, sacrificing our farmers,” he claimed.

Kharge alleged that "repeating falsehoods" has been Modi's job though the Opposition has spoken at length during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address. "Instead, he kept talking about 100 years, 75 years, 50 years," he said.

He also did not find much merit in the BJP claims that the Congress is anti-Sikh against the backdrop of Rahul calling Union Minister Ravneet Bittu a “traitor friend”.

“We respect the Sikh community. It is a great religion…To link an entire religion to a single incident and claim insult is wrong. We made Manmohan Singh the Finance Minister. We made him Prime Minister not once, but twice…Yet Modi-ji, who sits on his chair through false propaganda and follows Goebbels’ theory, behaving like Hitler, lectures us? You (BJP) do not respect Sikhs, Dalits, or Adivasis. Your focus is on belittling others,” he said.

On Modi not replying to the debate in Lok Sabha, he said the Speaker claimed he advised Modi not to come to the House after receiving inputs about protests. “If your intelligence is so good, where was it during Pulwama (terror attack)? Lynchings are happening across the country, attacks on Adivasis and Dalits are taking place. Where does this intelligence go then?” he said.