Skipped son's operation for the fight to save 140 cr people: Mallikarjun Kharge at Congress' 'vote chori' rally

'My son was undergoing an eight-hour surgery the day before yesterday and I was getting calls from my wife and doctor-daughter among others asking him to be there,' Kharge said.

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said he skipped flying to Bengaluru to meet his son who underwent a complicated surgery so as not to miss Parliament and the "big rally" against "traitors" who are involved in 'vote chori'.

Addressing the 'Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod' rally at the Ramlila Maidan here, Kharge recalled a meeting with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi a couple of days ago when the latter asked him about his plans to go to Karnataka to attend to his son.

Initially, Kharge said he told Rahul that he has plans to go but then referred to the rally. "My son was undergoing an eight-hour surgery the day before yesterday and I was getting calls from my wife and doctor-daughter among others asking him to be there," he said.

"Then I thought there are soldiers who are at the borders securing the country, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi have sacrificed their lives for the country, Sonia Gandhi has sacrificed everything for this country and should I leave Delhi, leaving Parliament and the big rally to meet my son," he said.

Kharge said he then decided not to leave Delhi when Parliament is in session and the big rally is happening. "Something may happen to my son but for the fight to save 140 crore people, I will stay back," he said as Rahul led other leaders to a standing ovation for the Congress chief.

He said they should not be wanting in the fight for saving the country even if the Modi government unleashes the central agencies against them.

Alleging that 'vote chori' is the "biggest treason" and that this country will teach a hard lesson to the 'vote thieves', he said only Congress ideology can save the country as the RSS ideology will "finish" the country.

"The people of BJP-RSS are engaged in efforts to end the Constitution. The people of BJP-RSS want to enslave the poor again...These BJP-RSS folks have come to power through vote theft and betrayal. Our fight is against these traitors. They did not participate in the freedom movement, and in the last 11 years, BJP-RSS has only worked to weaken every constitutional institution of the country," he said.

He said Congress ideology is alive even after losing many polls but if Modi loses once he will not be seen anywhere. "We have lost elections many times, but our ideology is alive. The day Modi loses the election, his name and trace will be erased," he said.