Kharge likens Modi to snake, then clarifies it was not directed at him

A little later in the day, he said that his words were meant for BJP not the PM

Congress president M. Mallikarjun Kharge addresses a public meeting ahead of the elections, at Ron in Gadag district on Thursday. | Photo Credit: ANI

AICC president M. Mallikarjun Kharge likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a snake at an election rally in Gadag district on Thursday but clarified later in the day that his words were aimed at the BJP and not Mr. Modi.

Addressing an election rally at Naregal in Gadag district on Thursday, Mr. Kharge said Modi was like a poisonous snake. ”If you try test whether it is poisonous or not, you will die,” he said.

However, later in the day, as BJP leaders took serious objection to his statement, addressing another rally in Ron in Gadag district, Mr. Kharge clarified that his words were not intended at Mr. Modi but the BJP.

“What I meant was the BJP is like a poisonous snake. Even if someone tastes it, death is certain. These words were not meant for Mr. Modi. Personally I don’t have any grudge against any individual,“ he said.

Corruption issue

“The BJP is mired in corruption. But if anyone questioned it, he or she would be threatened with IT and ED raids. That’s why the Modi government is like a snake,” he clarified.

Mocking Mr. Modi on his stance on corruption, Mr. Kharge said at the Naregal rally, “He [Mr. Modi] says ‘na khaoonga na khane doonga. But he does politics by allowing those taking 40% commission to sit beside him. He has come to destroy the nation by his ideology.”

He further said, “When the Opposition questioned the government, they spoke about his 56 inch chest. We are not checking his physique. We are measuring his works,“ he said.