New Delhi, 10 October (H.S.): Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra has condemned remarks made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge against the BJP-led Central Government, demanding that he apologise to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Malhotra warned that Kharge would otherwise have to face public backlash.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Saturday, Malhotra described Kharge’s remark, “They are scared, and a person who is afraid dies sooner or later,” as reprehensible. He demanded an immediate apology from the Congress president, warning that failure to do so could invite public protests.

Malhotra alleged that Kharge frequently used inappropriate language against the BJP government and Prime Minister Modi. He added that BJP leaders had refrained from using disrespectful language against Kharge, keeping his age in consideration.

Questioning Kharge’s criticism of the government as being afraid, Malhotra asked him to explain how similar actions taken during Congress rule should be characterised if preparing to manage protests amounted to fear on the government’s part.

Referring to historical incidents, Malhotra cited the firing on protesters during an anti-cow-slaughter agitation in 1966, the imposition of the Emergency and the police firing during a farmers’ protest on Rajpath in 1988.

He also referred to measures taken in 1990 and 1993 to prevent kar sevaks, responding to calls by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), from proceeding towards Rajpath. These measures, he said, included the installation of barbed-wire barricades, the use of tear gas and baton charges.

Malhotra questioned why Congress governments had repeatedly resorted to action against protesters during their tenure if preparations to manage demonstrations could be interpreted as a sign of fear.

His remarks came amid a political exchange between the BJP and the Congress over Kharge’s comments on the functioning of the BJP-led government and its approach to handling protests.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar