Chhattisgarh elections 2023: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has hit out at the Centre saying that his party is engaged in uniting Bharat (India) but the BJP is trying to break the country.
Addressing a gathering in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Congress is engaged in uniting Bharat, but they (BJP) are trying to break it."
Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh and four other states including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Mizoram are due to be held later this year.
Mallikarjun Kharge was speaking in the Chhattisgarh government's 'Bharose ka Sammelan' in Rajnandgaon district. The event was also attended by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
"We have formed an alliance INDIA for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and now BJP is saying the country’s name India should be changed to Bharat. There is both India and Bharat in the Constitution itself. Then why are they triggering a dispute over it,” Kharge said.
“We love Bharat. Rahul Gandhi took out a foot march from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and named the yatra as Bharat Jodo. We are engaged in uniting Bharat and you (BJP) are engaged in breaking it,” he said.
“If you (BJP) hate ‘India’, then why PM Modi has given words like ‘Startup India’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Khelo India’ and ‘Make in India’? We have to fight against this mentality (of BJP),” he mentioned.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters, Mallikarjun Kharge lauded the Chhattisgarh government saying, "The benefits that the Chhattisgarh Congress government is giving is a big thing. People should get facilities and when they get facilities there's a wave of happiness among them..."
Previously, Mallikarjun Kharge attended a 'Bharose ka Sammelan' event in Janjgir-Champa district on August 12.
In 2018 assembly elections, the grand-old party won four out of six seats in Rajnandgaon district.
In another development, Rahul Gandhi, who is currently on a Europe visit, commented on Mallikarjun Kharge not being invited to the G20 Summit dinner.
"What is contrary about it? They have decided not to invite the Leader of the Opposition. It tells you something. It tells you that they don't value the Leader of 60 per cent of India's population. It's something that people should think about - why they are feeling the need to do that and what is the type of thinking that goes behind that," Rahul Gandhi said.
With inputs from PTI
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