Kharge mocks BJP’s age rule citing Sreedharan

Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday criticized the BJP for fielding ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan while having “sidelined” other senior leaders such as L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.

Kharge was speaking at an event to commemorate the 114th birth anniversary of former deputy prime minister Babu Jagjivan Ram organised by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).

“People like L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and others who built the (BJP) were sidelined because they turned 75 and were made to sit at home as margdarshaks (advisers). But in Kerala, they gave the ticket to 88-year-old Sreedharan. In West Bengal also, they gave tickets to two TMC MLAs aged 82 and 84. They say one thing and do something else,” Kharge said.

Kharge, 78, also attacked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological parent. “The RSS ideology is poisonous,” he said. “Even (former Congress president) Rahul Gandhi says wherever he goes that PM Modi and the BJP are creating trouble for the country and that the RSS’ ideology is dangerous,” he added.

Kharge said leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, B R Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram strived to keep the country together. “But the BJP is trying to divide the country. In the name of religion, they feel they’ll continue to be in power. It’s only a matter of time before people wake up and realize,” he said.