Shimla: The Congress has strongly countered the BJP’s attack over party chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s controversial reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s late father, with Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba asserting that Modi himself had appealed for votes while shedding “crocodile tears” in his mother’s name.
Speaking to reporters in Shimla, Lamba said the Congress had never made an issue of the Prime Minister’s parents’ background. She claimed Modi had used his mother’s name during elections to get votes.
Lamba urged people in Himachal Pradesh to join the opposition’s movement against alleged “vote theft” and attend the INDIA bloc’s protest at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on November 1. She said around 10 lakh people would take part.
‘Stop Playing Victim Card’
On Kharge’s “baap” remark, Lamba asked Modi to stop playing the “victim card”. She said Kharge was a very senior leader and his words should be understood in that context.
She also accused BJP leaders of making insulting remarks about women. She referred to a past statement by Amit Shah in which he had said he would “teach a lesson”, using the Hindi phrase “nani yaad dila denge”.
Lamba alleged that after Kharge’s event in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, RSS and BJP workers performed a “purification” ritual. She said this showed disrespect towards the Congress president.
She also said Modi, who calls himself a “fakir”, should prepare his “jhola” as his time was ending. Lamba claimed Modi was “compromised” and acting under pressure related to the “Epstein files”. She criticised Shah for visiting the Election Commissioner’s office while ignoring the crisis in Manipur, as reported by The New Indian Express.
‘Democracy In Danger’
Lamba said democracy was in danger and the opposition could not remain silent. She accused the government of trying to stop the November 1 protest and silence opposition voices, but said the movement would not be withdrawn.
She alleged that votes of Dalits and the poor were being deleted from voter lists by calling them “infiltrators”. She asked who would be responsible if infiltrators had really entered the country and demanded Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation.
Lamba said the movement had three demands: resignation and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, stopping the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, and holding the 2029 elections using ballot papers.