BJP hit back at Kharge’s ‘illegal’ statement, asked- ‘Are you also an illegal MP?’

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party has targeted Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s statement in which he had called Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Ministers of all states ‘illegal’. BJP has asked Kharge to apologize for ‘insulting the mandate’. Speaking to reporters in Kalaburagi, Karnataka on Saturday, Kharge had demanded dissolution of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

What did Kharge say?

Kharge had said that all the elections held in the country were illegal. He had also described Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Ministers of all states as ‘illegal’. The Congress President demanded fresh elections and said that these elections should be held through ballot paper. He said that questions are being raised on the current electoral process and fresh elections should be conducted in this regard. Let us tell you that for the last few days, Kharge has been attacking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and is demanding his removal.

Kiren Rijiju’s direct question to Kharge

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju hit back at Kharge’s statement. He asked question,

‘Are you an illegal MP, Kharge ji? Is Rahul Gandhi an illegal MP? Are the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand illegal? Stop insulting the Constitution of India.

BJP said, ‘insulted the mandate’

BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sudhanshu Trivedi also raised questions on Kharge’s statement. He said that the Congress President’s comments are an insult to the mandate of the voters of the country. BJP has demanded an apology from Congress on this basis. Trivedi said that rejecting the public’s decision in elections in this manner raises questions on the democratic mandate.

Trivedi raised questions on Kharge’s election itself.

Sudhanshu Trivedi also raised questions about the process of Kharge being elected Congress President. He claimed that after Kharge became the Congress President, many party leaders had asked for the ‘electoral college list’, but the Congress did not provide that list to anyone. Based on this, Trivedi asked Kharge a question,

‘So, the first question that arises is whether your election to the post of President was illegal?’

Also mentioned about 2014 elections

Sudhanshu Trivedi also mentioned the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He said that in 2014, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, BJP had won a clear majority and formed the first non-Congress government in the country, which got a clear majority. BJP termed Kharge’s current comment as an insult to the public’s decision in the context of this election mandate. (With inputs from PTI)

Also read: ‘It is an old habit of Congress to insult the mandate after losing elections,’ Shivraj Chauhan’s sharp attack on Mallikarjun Kharge.