New Delhi, April 8 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.
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