The BJP has come under fire from the Congress for fielding Manikanta Rathod, claiming that by doing so, the party has insulted the residents of Chittapur by selecting a “history-sheeter.”
On Saturday, the Congress asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was preparing to murder Mallikarjun Kharge, the party’s chairman, and his family. At a news conference in Bengaluru, the Congress played an audio recording, alleging that Manikanta Rathod, the BJP candidate from Chittapur, had spoken disparagingly of Kharge and mentioned killing him and his family.
Congressman Randeep Surjewala stated, “Plotting to assassinate the president of the Congress Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife, and his children is not something that anybody should brush away.
“And it’s not a regular person either. It is the blue-eyed youngster, the BJP candidate for Chittapur whose background you are more familiar with than I am. He is a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
“I am aware that the Indian Election Commission, Karnataka police, and the prime minister will all remain silent. However, the people of Karnataka will not keep silent and will respond appropriately.
The head of the Congress media and publicity department, Pawan Khera, was also present at the Bengaluru party briefing.
The audio tape was later posted on social media by Congress. HT was unable to independently confirm the clip’s legitimacy.
Manikanta Rathod is running for office in the Chittapur district against Priyank Kharge, the son of Mallikarjun Kharge, who is running for Congress. The divisive candidate, who is embroiled in more than 30 criminal proceedings, was previously exiled from Kalaburagi for a year. A murder threat against Priyank Kharge allegedly led to his detention on November 13 of last year, but he was eventually released on bail.
At that time, he had publicly stated that he was prepared to shoot Priyank Kharge.
The BJP and its leadership are now turning to devising a “murder plot” to kill AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife, and the entire family out of fear of losing the upcoming assembly elections to the Congress Party in a landslide. The BJP candidate for Chittapur, Manikanta Rathod, who also happens to be the “blue eyed boy” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Basavaraj Bommai, made this explicit in an audio tape, according to the Congress statement.
The accusations from Congress were made soon before PM Modi’s massive roadshow in Bengaluru.
