Bengaluru, May 1 (UNI) Countering Priyank Kharge's description of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "Nalayak beta (worthess son)", national BJP President JP Nadda on Monday said the Congress leaders are making such comments out of frustration of losing the election.
"Congress party is going through mental bankruptcy. Its leaders are aping the Gandhis in hurling invectives against the prime minister. It has already lost the election, and hence the venomous words are oozing out from its leaders in frustration," he told reporters here.
Junior Kharge made the remark at Chittapur from where he is contesting the May 10 assembly election.
Kharge was addressing the media while talking about the "injustice" meted out to the Banjara community by bringing in a new reservation policy for the OBCs.
Nadda also said that abusive words hurled at Modi by Congress leaders is to please their masters - Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.
BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said it shows Kharge's "depraved mind", and asked him to stay away from punching above his weight, and focus on defending his seat.
"What would he (Priyank Kharge) be doing if he was not the son of Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress president? It is anybody's guess! It is quite rich for someone who is feeding off his father's name, to call a democratically elected PM 'nalayak'," he tweeted.
"It is fine to disagree with the PM, criticise him, but calling him names shows a depraved mind. Junior Kharge should focus on defending his seat and not punch above his weight," he added.
In the morning, junior Kharge said: "When you (PM Modi) came to Gulbarga (Kalaburagi), what did you say to the Banjara community? That don't fear. A son of the Banjara community is sitting in Delhi (to solve the community's problems). How will it be (solved) if such a worthless (nalayak) son is sitting? How will you resolve their problems if you are working against reservation for the backward class."
Kharge said the BJP government has committed injustice to the Banjara community, and therefore stones were pelted at BS Yediyurappa's house in Shikaripura and bandh called by "community members" in Kalaburagi and Jewargi.
Interestingly, Shikaripura police had arrested three people, including a Congress leader, and booked 22 people for vandalising Yediyurappa's house.
Congress leader and prominent Banjara leader K Shivamurthy, who has been denied a ticket for the Assembly election, on April 18 said his community was unhappy with the grand old party. He had said that the community members were talking among themselves to vote for a party that gave more tickets to their leaders.
The BJP has fielded 13 Banjara candidates compared to three by the Congress in the May 10 assembly election in Karnataka.
Banjara is a numerically and politically strong community and has influence in more than 30 assembly seats out of 224 in Karnataka. UNI BDN SSP