Sardar statue is Modi's poll stunt: Kharge

Senior Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge, charged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is using the 'statue of unity' as an election stunt.

"Modi has suddenly begun talking of Sardar Patel. But, we have been paying respect to the leader, at Hyderabad-Karnataka Liberation Day programmes in Kalaburagi, for 15 years," Kharge said.

He told reporters, here on Wednesday, that BJP and RSS offices did not have the photographs of Dr B R Ambedkar earlier. "But now, they do. They have suddenly remembered Mahatma Gandhi, Dr B R Ambedkar and others. It is just politics," Kharge added.

Why not Nehru?

When Sardar Patel was the home minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime minister, and both worked together. It is wrong to undermine one person while highlighting another. "Congress pays equal respect to all leaders for their sacrifice and service, but BJP misuses their names for politics, Kharge said.

Modi diverting attention

Modi was diverting the attention of people using the statue. "Modi is facing criticism over issues of petrol price rise, Kashmir, unhealthy economy and the RBI-government spat. No constitutional or autonomous body in the country is safe. Let us wait for the people's verdict in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections," he noted.

Coalition will win bypoll

Expressing confidence that the Congress-JD(S) coalition would win the by-elections, Kharge stated that Rahul Gandhi would become prime minister, and P Chidambaram's statement in this regard was his personal view. "I will follow the orders of the party's leadership," he added.

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