Facing backlash over ‘illiterate’ Gujaratis remarks, Kharge expresses regret, says deliberate misinterpretation

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday expressed regret over his recent remarks during a Kerala election rally in Idukki, where he contrasted “educated and clever” Keralites with “illiterate” people in Gujarat.

He claimed that his statements are being “deliberately misinterpreted” and he “never intended” to hurt the sentiments of the people of Gujarat.

This came as the statement had triggered backlash from the BJP and Gujarat residents, who viewed it as a regional insult and elitism.

Taking to X, Kharge said, “Some remarks of mine in a recent election speech in Kerala are being deliberately misinterpreted. Even so, I express my sincere regret. It was never my intention to hurt the sentiments of the people of Gujarat for whom I have always had and will continue to have the highest of respect.”

Earlier on April 6, Kharge drew sharp criticism from the Gujarat government over remarks made at an election rally.

Addressing a rally in Kerala’s Idukki district ahead of Assembly elections, Kharge had said that people in the state are “educated and clever” and “cannot be misled”, unlike “those who are illiterate in Gujarat or other places”.

Home Minister Amit Shah condemned Kharge’s comments during an election rally in Assam on Tuesday. He remarked that the Congress party, which labels Gujarat — the birthplace of prominent leaders such as Dayanand Saraswati, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Vikram Sarabhai, and Modi ji — as illiterate, will get a response from the people.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had described Kharge’s remarks as “highly objectionable and unfortunate”, saying they had “hurt the dignity of Gujarat” and amounted to “an insult to Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel”.

“The mindset of Congress against Gujarat and Gujaratis is not recent but years old. Gujarat will not tolerate this insult,” CM Patel said.

He added that such statements reflected the party’s “insecurity” in the face of “widespread public support for development politics under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

Challenging Kharge’s remarks, CM Patel asked, “How can you call Gujaratis illiterate and foolish? If Gujarat were illiterate, would such development have been possible?”

Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi had also posed a series of pointed questions and demanded an apology.

Responding to the statement, Sanghavi said it had hurt the “self-respect and pride of 6.5 crore Gujaratis” and asked, “Did you not feel even a moment of shame while insulting the sacred land of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel?”

He further questioned, “As long as Congress was winning in Gujarat, the people were good, but once you started losing, has Gujarat suddenly become bad?”

He also asked, “Why do you target Gujarat in every election? Why do you repeatedly abuse Gujaratis? What is the root of this hatred?” and added, “Is this statement a result of your personal frustration or an official policy of Congress to consistently target Gujarat?”

Sanghavi said Kharge should “answer these questions and apologise not only to Gujarat but to the people of the entire country”.

The exchange has intensified political tensions between the BJP and Congress ahead of upcoming elections, with the ruling party accusing Kharge of making a generalised and offensive comment, while Congress has maintained that his remarks were made in the course of political criticism during an election campaign.

–IANS

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Congress chief Kharge writes to PM Modi, seeks site for Dr. Manmohan Singh’s memorial

New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging that the last rites of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh be conducted at a location where a memorial can be established.

Kharge’s letter followed a telephonic conversation with PM Modi, during which he discussed the possibility of setting up a memorial for Dr. Singh, a two-term Prime Minister deeply revered by the people of India.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, who passed away at 92 due to age-related health issues, served as the Prime Minister for two terms during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from 2004 to 2014. He had been in poor health in recent months.

“Apropos our telephonic conversation today morning, wherein I made a request to hold Dr Manmohan Singh’s last rites, which will take place tomorrow i.e. 28th December 2024, at his final resting place that would be a sacrosanct venue for memorial of the great son of India,” Kharge said in a letter shared by the Congress on X.

“This is in keeping with such tradition of having memorials of statesmen and former prime ministers at the very place of their funerals,” the Congress president added.

Kharge said Dr. Manmohan Singh holds a highly revered place in the psyche of the country and the people of this nation, and his contributions and achievements were phenomenal.

The Congress chief further wrote: “Dr Singh’s erudition on economic and fiscal matters came from his vast experience as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, chief economic advisor to the government of India and in various other capacities in several organisations, and the respect and regard that world leaders had for him bears testimony to this fact.”

Kharge said: “Dr. Singh’s wise counsel, leadership and contribution in mitigating the global economic financial crisis is well-acknowledged. He also recalled President Obama’s words when as the US president, he mentioned that ‘whenever the Indian prime minister speaks, the whole world listens to him’.

“When the nation was in the throes of grave economic crisis, it was Dr. Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister, who took India out of the crisis and also led the country towards economic prosperity and stability… Coming from a humble background and having suffered the pains and sufferings of the Partition, it is through his sheer grit and determination that he rose to become one of the leading statesmen of the world.”

“In view of the foregoing, I hope and trust that befitting the stature of Dr Manmohan Singh, the above request to have the funeral of Dr. Manmohan Singh at a place where his memorial can be built, will be acceded,” Kharge concluded in his letter to PM Modi.

–IANS

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MARCOS personnel critically injured during river rescue ops in J&K’s Uri

Srinagar, March 17 (IANS) A marine commando (MARCOS) of the navy was critically injured during a rescue operation in the Jhelum River in J&K’s Baramulla district on Tuesday and was shifted to an army hospital for treatment, officials said.

Officials said that a joint rescue operation was launched in the Uri area of Baramulla district after a woman jumped into the Jhelum River.

The middle-aged woman, identified as a resident of Lagama Uri, is reported to have jumped into the river from a wooden footbridge at Chandanwari in Uri.

The incident prompted an immediate search operation by teams of SDRF Baramulla and Civil Defence Unit, Uri.

Officials said the rescue operation was resumed on Tuesday with additional reinforcement, including personnel from the Navy’s MARCOS unit.

“During the search operation, one of the MARCOS personnel slipped into the river and was swept by the current for several minutes before being pulled out by fellow team members. The commando, identified as A.S. Badoria, sustained critical injuries during the incident and was initially unconscious when rescued. He was immediately shifted to the Army Hospital, Boniyar, for medical treatment.

“The condition of the injured personnel was reported to be critical,” an official said.

Meanwhile, search efforts were continuing to trace the missing woman, with rescue teams scanning stretches of the river.

The special forces of the Indian Navy, the MARCOS, founded in February 1987, were originally named the Indian Marine Special Force, which was later changed to the Marine Commando Force.

They are capable of operating in all types of environments: at sea, in the air, and on land.

The force has gradually acquired more experience and an international reputation for professionalism. The MARCOS regularly undertake specialised maritime operations in Jammu and Kashmir through the Jhelum River and the Wular Lake, a 65 square kilometres (16,000 acres) freshwater lake, and conduct counter-insurgency operations in the region.

Some MARCOS units are a part of the tri-services Armed Forces Special Operations Division.

–IANS

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Chirag Paswan challenges Tejashwi Yadav over ‘election boycott’ remarks

Patna, July 26 (IANS) In a sharp political attack, Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Saturday dared Bihar Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav to go ahead with his threat of boycotting the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

Addressing the media in Patna, Chirag Paswan accused the RJD-Congress alliance of lacking the courage to contest elections alone and called their boycott talk a gimmick born out of fear of defeat.

Referring to Tejashwi Yadav’s earlier statement hinting at a possible poll boycott over alleged irregularities in the voter list revision, Chirag Paswan said: “If you have the courage, then boycott once and show it. The RJD has ruled Bihar for 15 years, yet it doesn’t dare to contest alone.”

He further said that both RJD — the oldest party in Bihar — and Congress, the oldest party in the country, have become dependent on alliances because they fear standing on their own political footing.

“These are the same parties that can’t even contest elections alone, and now they are talking about boycotting elections? Who are they trying to scare?” he asked.

Paswan also highlighted his own political journey, recalling the 2020 Assembly elections, where he contested alone under difficult personal circumstances.

“I had the courage to fight alone, even when my leader, my father, passed away during the nomination phase in the 2020 Bihar Assembly election. Let them try the same if they are truly confident,” he said.

Paswan accused the opposition of habitually resorting to fear-mongering and spreading false narratives.

“They (Mahagathbandhan) claimed that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government returns after the Lok Sabha election 2024, reservation will end, democracy will be killed, and the Constitution will be torn apart. It’s been a year now — whose reservation has been snatched? Where has the Constitution been dismantled?” Paswan asked.

He also linked the current controversy over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) with previous misinformation campaigns around the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying: “They spread fear over CAA too, claiming it was meant to take away citizenship. But the public didn’t fall for it then, and won’t now.”

Chirag Paswan concluded by saying that the opposition has accepted its defeat in advance and is now using boycott rhetoric as a cover for their lack of political ground.

–IANS

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