Chalavadi's remark against Priyank Kharge sparks political row
A political storm erupted on Wednesday after BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha president Chalavadi Narayanaswamy likened Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge to a dog, while addressing a press conference in Kalaburagi.
The controversial remark came in response to Mr. Kharge's frequent criticisms against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Comparing Mr. Modi to an elephant, Mr. Narayanaswamy said, 'When dogs bark, the elephant does not turn back.'
In a detailed and sharply worded post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr. Kharge slammed the BJP for resorting to personal insults in the absence of political and ideological arguments.
'Unable to target me politically or ideologically, the BJP finds satisfaction in launching personal attacks. Such a statement by the BJP is not new to me. I knew their anger stems from the persistent exposure of major scandals such as the Ganga Kalyana scam, Bitcoin scam, KKRDB scam, COVID-19 scam and the Police Sub-Inspector recruitment scam. The criticism of RSS ideology has further fueled the BJP's hostility,' he said in the post.
Recalling the personal attacks against him by the BJP leaders, Mr. Kharge said: 'In the past, I was called a convent dalit. My name was mocked for being gender ambiguous. They said that I have grown physically but not mentally. A BJP candidate even conspired to eliminate my family.'
Mr. Kharge criticised what he called the hypocrisy and double standards of the BJP.
'While their minor leaders and spokespersons feel entitled to comment on national issues and even on revered leaders like Ambedkar, Gandhi and Nehru, they cannot tolerate me speaking on national matters. When I do, I'm called a dog,' he said.
Mr. Kharge also pointed out the contradiction in BJP's logic by stating that if the son of a former Chief Minister is elected as BJP State president, it is celebrated as merit and if I get a political position after getting elected by people thrice, it is called dynastic privilege.
Mr. Kharge also took a dig at Mr. Narayanaswamy for getting elected as Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, stating: 'Someone who has never contested even a single election has no moral or democratic authority to comment on someone like me who has won three times with people's support. Let him first face the electorate and prove his worth.'
Gherao
Meanwhile, a large number of Congress activists and Mr. Kharge's fans gheraoed Mr. Narayanaswamy, Ambaraya Ashtagi, Ashok Bagali and other BJP leaders at a government guesthouse in Chittapur for almost five hours, demanding an unconditional apology.
They let the BJP leaders out of the guesthouse at 9.30 p.m. only after Mr. Narayanaswamy said he regretted his remark against Mr. Kharge.
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