
'Anti-Dalit Party': BJP Slams Congress As Kharge Mispronounces President Murmu's Name
The BJP has alleged Mallikarjun Kharge disrespected Droupadi Murmu and Ram Nath Kovind after he mispronounced their names during a viral public speech.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday accused Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge of disrespecting President Droupadi Murmu and former President Ram Nath Kovind after he mispronounced their name during a public address.
While speaking at a public event, Kharge, in widely shared videos, could be heard saying 'Murma Ji", quickly correcting himself to say 'Murmu Ji".
As the video became viral on social media, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla took to X and reminded how Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury referred to President Droupadi Murmu as 'Rashtrapatni' in January 2022, thus sparking a huge row.
'Kharge ji calls Murmu ji as 'Murmaa" ji. Mispronounced Kovind ji name. Then calls them land looters," Ponawalla wrote.
'This is not Sanyog – it's an Udyog," he added.
Kharge ji calls Murmu ji as 'Murmaa" jiMispronounced Kovind ji nameThen calls them land lootersThis is not Sanyog – it's an udyog
Remember …– Rashtrapatni~ evil mindset~ boring
Congress = anti SC anti Tribal.. Defeated Ambedkar ji, denied himBharat Ratna, diverted…
— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) July 8, 2025
Also taking a dig at Kharge, the party's spokesperson, CR Kesavan, wrote on X, 'Kharge ji's venomous and diabolical attack on Presidents Murmu ji and Kovind ji exposes the dangerous deep rooted Dalit Virodhi mindset of the Congress party."
'For the Congress party not Dalit welfare but only Dynastic welfare has always been top priority," he wrote.
Kesavan also alleged that the Congress party has had a 'dubious" record of disrespecting leaders coming from the 'disadvantaged and marginalised sections".
'Right from denying Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar ji the Bharat Ratna, Congress has a very dubious record of deliberately denigrating and disrespecting meritorious leaders belonging to the disadvantaged & marginalised sections. The nation will never forget how senior Congress leaders attacked the candidature of Draupadi Murmu ji with insults like Rashtrapatni and labelling her as an evil ideology," he wrote.
'Even recently Sonia Gandhi had condescendingly termed our President a poor woman while Rahul Gandhi arrogantly called the Presidential address boring. The people of India continue to repeatedly reject the Congress party due to this poisonous Dalit Virodhi mindset," the BJP spokesperson mentioned.
Earlier, Kharge slammed the NDA alliance in Bihar, accusing them of destroying law and order in the state.
Taking to X, Kharge highlighted the rising crime in the state, noting the Purnia witchcraft murder case and the murders of businessmen in the state.
'The opportunistic double-engine government has destroyed the law and order situation in Bihar. In the last 6 months, eight businessmen have been killed, and 5 times the police have been beaten up. Just yesterday, five members of a family were killed due to superstition. Even innocent children were not spared!" Kharge wrote on X.
On Monday, five members of a family were burnt alive in Bihar's Purnia, allegedly in connection with black magic.
Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated!
Location :
New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
July 08, 2025, 11:53 IST
News india 'Anti-Dalit Party': BJP Slams Congress As Kharge Mispronounces President Murmu's Name
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
23 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Punjab BJP working president dares CM Mann: ‘why getting scared…fight us politically'
Punjab BJP leader Ashwani Sharma Thursday dared Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to fight the saffron party politically instaed of 'getting scared' and 'forcibly halting' party's awareness camps for central schemes. 'I want to ask Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to fight a political battle. Why are you getting scared of the BJP?' Don't you want the poor to get benefits of the central schemes,' Sharma, the Punjab BJP working president said. Sharma was addressing media after leading a party delegation that met Governor Gulab Chand Kataria seeking his intervention over Punjab Police detaining its leaders and workers at 39 places in state where they were conducting outreach programme 'BJP De Sewadar, Aa Gaye Tuhade Dwar' to 'ensure that the poor, the scheduled caste community, farmers, youth and women get the benefits of public welfare schemes of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre'. The BJP also alleged that several party leaders were detained. They include Sunny Kainth, president of BJP Rural (Ludhiana) from his Flower Enclave office; former Jalandhar MP Sushil Kumar Rinku from Adampur; senior BJP leader K D Bhandari from Shahkot in Jalandhar; Pathankot district BJP president Suresh Kumar; and Preetpal Sharma from Gidderbaha, who switched from the AAP to the BJP in November last year. BJP leader Vandana Sangwan and Fazilka district president Kaka Kamboj were detained from the Raipur village in Fazilka during a camp in the morning. Sharma said his party will burn effigies of the AAP government in each Vidhan Sabha constituency on Friday. Earlier, in the memorandum submitted to the Governor, the delegation alleged that there was 'deliberate harassment' being inflicted upon the party workers, volunteers, and the innocent inhabitants of several villages across Punjab, where awareness camps have been initiated to spread vital information about the central government welfare schemes. 'Our party workers and volunteers, with the consent and active participation of the local residents, have been conducting these awareness camps in different villages,' said the memorandum. The delegation accused the Punjab government 'of creating obstacles in this noble cause'. 'In almost every camp, the state police and local administration have intervened to stop BJP workers and volunteers from providing information. This disruption is being justified on two pretexts–that prior permission from the Deputy Commissioner/SDM is required, and that parties are allegedly collecting personal data of the inhabitants,' it said. No such permission is mandated under any law for awareness programmes of this nature, and the allegation regarding data collection is false, baseless, and politically motivated. Further the volunteers and workers engaged in these camps hold valid Common Service Centre (CSC) IDs. Hence, there is no illegality in the conduct of such programmes,' it said. The allegation regarding data collection is false, baseless, and politically motivated, it said. The BJP delegation urged the Governor to direct the Punjab government to immediately desist from 'harassing' BJP workers, volunteers, and local inhabitants who are voluntarily participating in these awareness programmes. Later, Sharma said the BJP workers just acted as a bridge by telling the poor about the camps. He claimed that so far 1.57 lakh people have availed the benefits of these camps which began in May.


Indian Express
23 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Behind AAP govt's ‘extreme step', internal feedback on BJP making inroads in villages
The Aam Aadmi Party may have taken a public stance of 'data breach concerns' to justify the Punjab Police crackdown on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s outreach programme 'BJP de Sewadar Aa Gaye Ne Tuhade Dwar', but sources within the ruling party said that the action came following an internal feedback the saffron party was trying to make inroads in villages. On Thursday, Punjab Police detained several BJP leaders and workers in different parts of the state, a day after it had abruptly obstructed saffron party's outreach camps at 39 locations in the state. Multiple sources in the AAP said that the 'extreme step' was taken after a feedback that the BJP was reaching out to farmers under the guise of registering members of Scheduled Caste community for various Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes of the Union government. 'Our cadre has been telling us that BJP has been organising these camps for last two months. We did not take it seriously. Now, we have learnt that they are not reviewing the Central government's schemes but trying to catch the attention of farmers. Their entry is being allowed by the village residents,' said a senior leader of AAP. Sources said that the BJP cadres, who were not being allowed in the villages since 2020, when the agitation against the now-repealed three farm laws ensued, rode piggyback on the protests against the land pooling policy to enter these villages. 'First, they targeted the SC population. Now, they are targeting the farmers. The BJP leaders have now feeling that they can make inroads in these villages,' the leader said. The AAP government, earlier this month withdrew the Land Pooling Policy-2025 following sustained protests by the farmer bodies and the Opposition parties. All Opposition parties, including the BJP, Congress and the SAD, had claimed credit for the rollback. Punjab AAP spokesperson Neel Garg said it is the state government that implements the central schemes. 'A State would never stop any such effort by the Centre. However, here a political party is collecting personal data. Why should that be allowed in the era of cyber crimes. People tell us that their cell phones are taken, OTPs are received on their cell phones and used. We have received many such complaints from the people. Why should anyone be allowed to do that? The government has Suvidha Centres to help the residents. They are authorised. But BJP does not want a system to work. They want individuals from their party to go and meet people. They are seeking Aadhaar details of the people. Why should that be allowed? Why have they not organised such camps before? Why such camps are not organised in other states like Haryana and other BJP ruled states?' A BJP leader told The Indian Express that they have been holding such camps across the country. 'These are just the reviews of central schemes. Also, in the process, the party is preparing its next rung of leadership. If youths will not go and meet people, how will they turn into leaders?' he asked, adding that the party will continue with its outreach. 'Anybody can carry out any political activity in the state,' he added. While the AAP and BJP are sparring over the issue, a ruling party leader said the government was playing with fire. 'Nobody is recalling that during Covid outbreak, AAP was supplying free Oxymeters to people when Congress was ruling the state. The then government had not stopped the AAP by using force. The then Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had countered AAP with Fateh-kits for the Covid patients,' he said.


Hindustan Times
23 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Online Gaming Bill can damage India's digital economy: K'taka IT minister
The Union government's decision to impose a blanket ban on real money gaming (RMG), with the passage of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill in the parliament, has drawn sharp criticism from Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge, who called it a 'knee-jerk reaction' that could damage India's digital economy. Online Gaming Bill can damage India's digital economy: K'taka IT minister The online gaming sector has grown rapidly in recent years, generating close to ₹20,000 crore annually through GST and income tax. Over 2,000 gaming startups operate in the country, many of them providing coding, design, and backend services for global platforms. Industry estimates suggest that more than two lakh jobs in IT, AI design, and the creative economy are linked to this ecosystem. The sector has also attracted around ₹23,000 crore in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the past five years, said Kharge. Kharge warned that the ban threatens this entire ecosystem. 'Thousands of people will be unemployed, the gaming talent pool will shrink, and allied sectors like data centres, advertising, and cybersecurity will be hit. If the government is talking about building a $10 trillion digital economy, how does shutting down this vertical send the right signal to global investors?' he said. A senior government official had told HT that the Centre weighed the revenue from online money games against their social costs and concluded that the latter outweighed the financial gains. The official added that 45 crore players have lost ₹20,000 crore to online money games. The government is also of the view that these money games not only create a financial burden but also contribute to behavioural changes like addiction and related suicides among youth. Beyond jobs and revenue, Kharge argued that prohibition will push users to unregulated offshore platforms. Industry observers have also raised similar concerns, pointing out that platforms based in China and Eastern Europe often operate without mechanisms like KYC or tax compliance, raising risks of money laundering, data theft, and even terror financing. The minister said the industry itself has been demanding regulation, not prohibition. 'Addiction won't end by banning platforms. Instead, users will flock to offshore servers where no safeguards exist. If they lose money there, who will they complain to?' he asked. Estimates suggest that India could lose nearly ₹8 lakh crore annually to unregulated foreign operators if players migrate en masse. Government officials have acknowledged that the ban will affect the industry but maintain that companies can reorient themselves towards recreational and casual games that do not involve monetary stakes. Kharge, however, drew a comparison with India's earlier attempt to block pornography websites, saying such bans only drove users to VPNs and unregulated domains. He also criticised the timing of the Online Gaming Bill, describing it, along with other recent pieces of legislation like the the Constitution Amendment Bill, 2025, the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, as a 'diversion' from the Election Commission's ongoing scrutiny of electoral rolls. 'It is common sense that illegal markets will threaten national security. How many URLs can you block? They will just reappear under different domains. And if servers move abroad, they go beyond India's ambit,' Kharge said. HT reached out to IT ministry officials for a comment but did not immediately receive a response.