Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 1 : Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday clarified that his son Priyank Kharge never made the "nalayak beta" remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi adding that people were forcibly putting words to his mouth.
Days after Mallikarjun Kharge stoked a controversy with his "poisonous snake" remark on PM Modi, the Congress president's son Priyank Kharge on Monday outdid his father describing the holder of the country's highest officer as "nalayak beta" (useless son).
"...When PM Modi had come to Kalaburgi, he said, Aap sab dariye mat, Banjara community ka ek beta Delhi mein baitha hai (do not be scared, a son from the Banjara community is sitting in Delhi). Aisa nalayak beta baithega toh ghar kaise chalega (if the son is useless, how will the house be run)?" Priyank Kharge said.
While talking to the reporters, Kharge said, "He (Priyank Kharge) never said, don't put these things in his mouth. He attacked the parliament member who abused him. So don't put in his mouth these words for Modi. Everywhere this is going purposely."
Amid the high-decibel campaign for the ensuing Karnataka Assembly elections, Mallikarjun Kharge's "poisonous snake" remark drew a sharp reaction from the BJP, which slammed the "slanderous" statement saying it reflected the "mentality" of the principal Opposition party in the state.
"PM Modi is like a 'poisonous snake'. You might to check if its poison or not. But if you lick it, you're dead," Kharge had said at an election rally.
Kharge, who made the remarks at Kalaburagi, later issued a clarification saying his remark wasn't directed at Prime Minister Modi but at the BJP and its "divisive" ideology.
The polls for the 224-seat Karnataka Assembly are scheduled to take place on May 10 and the counting of votes will be done on May 13.
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