In an emotional appeal to voters in his home constituency of Kalaburagi on the last day of campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday urged voters to take pride in the fact that he is a “Bhoomiputra“The head of the state was made the head of the party, and in that name sought the victory of the Congress. He said that he had gone to Gujarat for campaigning, where the Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked to vote for BJP because it belonged to BJP Bhoomiputra of Gujarat and Ahmedabad, and requested them to save their dignity. Similarly, he was seeking votes from his people in Kalaburagi and Karnataka, the senior leader said.
“I want to tell Modi now that I am land son of Karnataka and Gulbarga (Kalaburagi). The rights you have in Gujarat are mine here and I should get them. You didn’t do anything for me, but I am demanding by working for my area. What have you done here to seek votes?” He asked.
Kharge said that he is 81 years old and if anyone wants to eliminate him, they can but he will continue to fight for the poor till his last breath and try to protect their interests. The Congress had recently alleged that a murder plot was hatched by the BJP candidate to “wipe out” Kharge, his wife and their entire family. It shared a purported audio recording of Manikant Rathod, the BJP candidate from Chittapur constituency in Kalaburagi district. In which he is purportedly heard saying in Kannada that he will wipe out “Kharge, his wife and children”.
He said, ‘It seems that the matter of finishing me must have come in the mind of BJP leaders. If not, who would dare to say that he wants to eliminate Kharge and the family? If he has to say this then some BJP leader should be behind him, otherwise it will not happen.
Addressing a public meeting in Kalaburagi, he said, no one could finish him easily. “I have Babasaheb’s constitution to protect me, Kalaburagi and the people of Karnataka are behind me. Now after becoming the AICC president, the people of the country are behind me. You can finish me and my family..if I go someone else may come forward.
Rejecting the allegations outright, Rathod said, “It is all a lie. They are playing some fake audio. Fearing defeat, the Congress is making baseless allegations.
Kharge further accused the BJP of saying everywhere that they want to finish him because he and his son are speaking against him, Kharge said, “Modi is behaving in the same way. Speak about me, why son? He is not of your level. Talking about me is fine, I have been in politics for 52 years…but why my family?”
Stating that he had lost his entire family once in his childhood and was left alone, he said, “I am still alive and will survive with the blessings of the people.”
“…let them do what they want, but I am strong too. A man can live for a hundred years or 90 years, but the average life in India is 70 or 71. I’m already in my bonus period, I’m 81 now. If I live, I can live another eight or nine years, no worries. If you want to terminate me before that, then terminate if your problems will be solved. I’m ready But till my last breath, I will keep fighting for the poor and try to protect them. As long as you (people) are with me, I have no fear.”
Kharge also urged the people of Kalaburagi to ensure that the Congress wins all the seats in the region in “answer” to the party making him its national president, suggesting that it was a matter of pride. Pointing out that it was because of the blessings of the people of Kalburgi, he was in Parliament and had been in the Assembly and served in various capacities, including as Leader of the Opposition, Kharge said though he lost the Lok Sabha elections, Sonia Gandhi elected him to the Rajya Sabha. Member and then Leader of the Opposition, and above all he has been made AICC President. “It is a matter of pride for Gulbarga (Kalburagi), not mine,” he said.
Stating that he might die some day, he said, “But Gulbarga (Kalburagi) has got the post of Congress national president and it is in your hands to save it, it is in your hands to bring respect to it. Otherwise others will say that Gulbarga (Kalaburgi) was made the Speaker but the people there did not even elect an MLA.
Kharge asked the people to ensure that the Congress wins all the seats in Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts. “You should ensure that the Congress wins all the 13 seats. Then I will be respected and those who made me president, and you too, because I am nobody without you.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)