Modi making mockery of democracy, says Kharge

BENGALURU: President of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday lashed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of making a mockery of democracy by indulging in practice of poaching MLAs to bringing down State Governments formed with absolute majority.

Participating in an election campaign in Krishnaraja Pet town of Mandya district, Kharge pointed out that Congress party was in majority in Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur and all these governments were brought down by allegedly threatening MLAs of opposition parties through sleuths of Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate and other agencies.

He also pointed to the incident of collapse of JDS and Congress coalition government in Karnataka.

Kharge stated MLAs when in opposition parties are termed ‘tainted’ but soon after joining BJP these ‘tainted’ MLAs image gets cleansed and sarcastically said that “Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have a washing machine which they use to cleanse ‘tainted’ MLAs."

Over 40 per cent ‘commission’ allegations against BJP ruled State Government in Karnataka, the AICC president said the contractors association have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging ‘commission’ in the State and even the School Management Association has brought ‘commission’ to the notice of the PM and Kharge asked Modi “Why can’t you understand corruption in Karnataka?”

To Modi, he asked, “You (Modi) accuse Chief Ministers of other States of indulging in corruption and also mock CMs of other States but are blind on commission charges against BJP CM in Karnataka?”

Questioning Modi over his silence on letters of contractors association of Karnataka, Kharge said he found that either the Prime Minister is ‘encouraging’ or “finds no problem in corruption.”  

On the functioning of the double government of BJP, Kharge said “One engine (State Government) has failed and the other has slipped off the track (Union Government).”

Kharge also campaigned in Malavalli of Mandya and termed that the ensuing Assembly polls are of ‘utmost’ importance to save democracy.