Mallikarjun Kharge writes to PM over objectionable remarks against Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discipline leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led ruling alliance who have used offensive language against the party leader Rahul Gandhi, saying strict legal action should be taken against people making such statements to prevent the degeneration of politics in the country.
“I want to draw your attention to an issue which is directly related to democracy and the Constitution. You must be aware that a series of extremely objectionable, violent and rude statements are being made against the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi,” the Congress chief said in a letter in Hindi to PM Modi.
“I have to say with sadness that the violent language used by the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and your allies is harmful to the future. The world is shocked that the Minister of State for Railways in the central government, a minister from BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, is calling the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha ‘number one terrorist’,” Kharge said in an apparent reference to the remarks by junior railways minister Ravneet Singh Bittu and UP minister Raghuraj Singh.
“An MLA from a party that has ties with your government in Maharashtra is announcing a reward of ₹11 lakh to the person who ‘cuts off the tongue of the Leader of the Opposition and brings it to him’. A BJP leader and former MLA in Delhi is threatening to make him ‘fate like his grandmother’,” Kharge said.
Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad announced that he will give ₹11 lakh to anyone chopping off Gandhi’s tongue for his remarks on scrapping the reservation system.
In his letter, Kharge urged PM Modi to take immediate action, calling the statements an attack on democratic principles and the sanctity of political discourse in the country.
“Strict legal action should be taken for such statements so that Indian politics can be prevented from becoming degenerate. Nothing untoward happens. I trust that you will give the required instructions to these leaders to immediately stop making violent statements,” he said.