Lok Sabha Election 2024: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday slammed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his recent remarks on the abrogation of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 of the Constitution. Addressing a political event in Rajasthan's Jaipur, Kharge had questioned the logic behind the BJP promoting the abrogation of Article 370 in the state as part of its Lok Sabha poll campaign.
"They (the BJP) are coming here and saying that they removed 371. What does it have to do with the people here? It's okay, if you go and speak about that in Jammu and Kashmir," Kharge said. The veteran Congress leader incorrectly referred to Article 370 as Article 371 during his speech, which his party later acknowledged was a slip of the tongue.
While addressing a poll rally in Bihar's Nawada, PM Modi reacted sharply to Kharge's remark, stating, "The Congress's national president - and it's not a small post - said what is the use of talking about (Article) 370 after coming to Rajasthan? I feel ashamed in hearing that. Is Jammu and Kashmir not part of India?"
"The Congress should listen carefully. Many young and brave people from Bihar have made huge sacrifices for the motherland. How many young people have returned home, wrapped in the national flag, in their effort to save Jammu and Kashmir?" PM Modi was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Applying the same logic for Rajasthan, PM Modi said, "In Rajasthan too, many brave young people have returned wrapped in the national flag after they gave the highest sacrifice in defence of Jammu and Kashmir."
Attacking the Congress party and the wider Opposition, PM Modi further said, "Now they are saying what is the relevance of one corner of the country to another? This is the language of the tukde-tukde gang. Can you forgive such people?" Subsequently, the crowd attending the prime minister's rally responded with a loud "No", NDTV reported.