Many Congressmen...: Kharge counters 'batenge...' slogan

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday asserted that several leaders from his party have laid down their lives to unite the country, countering Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath's 'batenge toh katenge' slogan.

Those who want the country to remain united will never pass such divisive remarks, he said.

Addressing a press conference in Nagpur city of Maharashtra, where assembly elections will be held on November 20, he asked the BJP to decide between Yogi's slogan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unity message of “Ek hain, toh safe hain”.

Kharge also hit back at the BJP for criticising his party colleague Rahul Gandhi over a copy of the Constitution with a red cover. He showed a picture of PM Modi gifting a similar copy to former president Ramnath Kovind.

The senior Congress leader accused the BJP and RSS of provoking people to gain votes. Citing a newspaper article, Kharge said he read that RSS favoured the slogan of ‘batenge toh katenge' (if divided, we perish) being raised by the UP CM.

“First, you decide between yourselves whose slogan is to be followed – Yogi ji's or Modi ji's,” he said, and added, “BJP leaders give inciting speeches and speak lies and divert people's attention from core issues."

Addressing a campaign rally in the north Maharashtra district of Dhule on Friday, PM Modi had pitched for unity among SCs, STs and OBCs, saying, “Remember, ‘Ek hain, toh safe hain” (we are safe if we are united).

Kharge stressed that many big Congress have laid down their lives to unite the country and attacked the BJP, saying, “You only divide but blame others. You say ‘batenge toh katenge'. Those who want the country to remain united will never pass such divisive slogans.”

The Congress chief said two big leaders from Maharashtra's Vidarbha region did not stop big-ticket projects from being shifted from the state to Gujarat because they were concerned about “saving their own posts and not worried about people's interest”, indirectly taking a jibe at Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who hail from Nagpur.

There is an MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) wave in Vidarbha, which elects 62 of the state's 288 MLAs, he said and expressed confidence that the grouping comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) will win the assembly polls.

He also dismissed the BJP's allegation that the Congress supports ‘urban Naxals', particularly when their leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi keeps talking about saving the Constitution.

“Is it a crime to flaunt a copy of the Constitution with a red cover,” he said, referring to Fadnavis's earlier allegation that Gandhi was building a coalition of anarchists. In many public meetings, Gandhi has waived a copy of the Constitution with a red cover – in politics, red is often associated with the Marxist or communist ideology.

At the press conference, Kharge showed a picture of PM Modi gifting a similar copy to former president Ramnath Kovind.

He alleged that PM Modi “tells lies and tells them loudly”.

“Was it not a lie of his that he would bring black money back stashed abroad? He also lied about providing jobs and doubling farmers' income and demonetisation. Did he not tell all these,” he asked.

Kharge derided the BJP for accusing the Congress of failing to implement its poll guarantees in the states governed by the grand old party, particularly in his home state Karnataka. The BJP is copying Congress' welfare schemes and implementing them, he claimed.

He also asked the BJP to engage in a debate with the Congress and tell what work its government carried out in the last 11 years.

“We will tell you about the work we have done in 55 years,” he said, asserting that Maharashtra needs good government to bring it back on the path of development.

“MVA will win with full majority and our opponents won't be able to divide it,” he added.

Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.