Guwahati, Jan 27: Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party over the controversy involving Rahul Gandhi and the traditional Northeastern patka, accusing the ruling party of deliberately creating an issue to malign the Congress and insult the Opposition ahead of elections.
Addressing the controversy, Kharge clarified that Rahul Gandhi had worn the gamosa respectfully and had only folded it and kept it aside while eating. He said the BJP was unnecessarily blowing the matter out of proportion and falsely portraying it as an insult to the culture of the Northeast for political gain.
Kharge alleged that the Opposition had been repeatedly humiliated during the Republic Day celebrations and described it as a serious affront to democratic values and constitutional norms. He said two senior Opposition leaders were made to sit in the third row during the Republic Day parade, which he termed an unacceptable slight to their constitutional positions.
Stating that he was the senior-most Opposition leader, Kharge said seating him alongside state ministers amounted to an insult to him, the Congress and the Constitution. He also alleged that Opposition leaders were made to wait in line with state ministers to meet the President, which he described as a deliberate attempt to undermine constitutional propriety.
Rejecting BJP’s charge that the Congress had disrespected the Northeast, Kharge said the issue was being weaponised solely to attack the Congress in the run-up to elections and had nothing to do with regional sentiments.
Referring to Manipur, Kharge said the BJP was trying to recover lost political ground in the violence-hit state and pointed to Rahul Gandhi’s padyatra there as evidence of the Congress’s engagement with the region and its people.
