‘Isn’t your govt responsible for atrocities on women of Manipur?’ Mallikarjun Kharge pens open letter to PM Modi

Party head Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the controversy surrounding his comments about the Congress manifesto and said he “would be more than happy to meet you in person to explain our Nyay Patra”.

The Prime Minister has accused the Congress of having a wealth redistribution scheme if it wins in the Lok Sabha elections and launched a full-scale assault on the major Opposition party.

He stated that private properties, such as homes and jewellery, will be redistributed under the purported plan. The Prime Minister has declared that not even the mangalsutra, a piece of jewellery worn by women to symbolise their marriage, will be spared.

The Prime Minister claimed that the Congress had stated Muslims have the first claim to the nation’s riches when it was led by Dr Manmohan Singh, “This means that they will gather this property and distribute it among people who have more children, among infiltrators. Will your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators? Do you accept this? The Congress manifesto is saying this.”

These claims have been denied by the Congress. In its manifesto, the Congress promises to carry out a national caste and socioeconomic census if elected. “Congress will conduct a nationwide Socio-Economic and Caste Census to enumerate the castes and sub-castes and their socio-economic conditions. Based on the data, we will strengthen the agenda for affirmative action.” Regarding a proposal to redistribute private property, the manifesto is silent.

Letter by Mallikarjun Kharge to PM Modi

Kharge wrote to the Prime Minister and said he is “neither shocked nor surprised by your language or your speeches”. “It was expected that you and other leaders from your party would start speaking in this manner after you saw the dismal performance of the BJP in the first phase of the elections,” he added in the letter, shared on X.

Describing the government of Narendra Modi as ” suit-boot ki sarkar”, according to Mallikarjun Kharge, it serves the corporates, “whose taxes you reduced, while salaried class pays higher taxes”. “The poor pay GST even on food and salt and rich corporations claim GST refunds. That is why when we talk of inequality between rich and poor, you are purposely equating it with Hindu and Muslim. Our manifesto is for the people of India whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh Jain or Buddhist,” he stated.

Mallikarjun Kharge has charged that the country’s deprived and backward women are the victims of atrocities that the Prime Minister is ignoring. “Today, you talk about their mangalsutra. Isn’t your government responsible for the atrocities against women in Manipur, atrocities against Dalit girls, garlanding of rapists?”

“When farmers are committing suicides under your government, how are you protecting their wives and children? Please read about the Nari Nyay which we will be implementing when we come to power,” he stated. The Prime Minister’s “habit” of “seizing on few words taken out of context and creating a communal divide” is described in the letter.

My letter to PM @narendramodi ji underlining that he has been misinformed on the Congress Nyay Patra. I would also like to meet him in person to explain him our Manifesto, so that he doesn’t make any false statements in future.

Sharing the text of the same —

I am neither… pic.twitter.com/pSDkm4IiBW

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) April 25, 2024

“You are lowering the dignity of the chair by speaking in this manner. When all of this is over, people will remember that the Prime Minister of the country used such vulgar language for fear of losing an election,” Mallikarjun Kharge stated in the letter. The leader of the Congress begs the Prime Minister not to “get carried away” when his fans applaud during his speeches. “They are not allowing you to hear the crores of right-thinking citizens who are disappointed by your speeches,” he wrote.

Before signing off the Congress Party writes, “The Congress Nyay Patra aims at providing Nyay to the youth, women, farmers, laborers and marginalized people across all castes and communities. You are being misinformed by your advisors about things that are not even written in our manifesto. I would be more than happy to meet you in person to explain our Nyay Patra so that as the Prime Minister of the country you don’t make any statements that are false”.

The Congress president’s letter generated no response from the BJP yet. Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier called the Prime Minister’s Sunday statements a “hate speech” meant to divert attention away from important election-related concerns. In response, the BJP stated that the Prime Minister had expressed the opinions of the people and called a spade a spade.

The Election Commission of India has requested a response from the BJP leadership after the Congress brought attention to the Prime Minister’s comments. In addition, the electoral body has sent a notice to the Congress leadership, requesting an answer to a complaint made by the BJP against Rahul Gandhi.