BJP's goal is to propagate RSS agenda, says Mallikarjun Kharge

PATNA: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge , who addressed twin election rallies in Katihar and Kishanganj on Friday, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) of propagating the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) agenda in the country and devising ways to destroy the Constitution .

“While Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps on saying that the Constitution will not be changed, his people are working on ‘abki baar, 400 paar’ mission.

They urge people to give two-thirds majority to BJP to amend the Constitution,” Kharge said while addressing a rally at Rajendra Stadium in Katihar in favour of party candidate Tariq Anwar.

Kharge said while the BJP was seeking votes to amend the Constitution and kill democracy, the Congress believed in reaching out to the people with a promise to end their plights.

“Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s Constitution, which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1949 and came into force on January 26, 1950, gave voting rights to the people of all sections of society. The BJP people are now trying to push RSS agenda and snatch the voting rights of these people,” Kharge alleged.

In Kishanganj, where the Congress has fielded sitting MP Mohd Jawed, Kharge said he did not retire from politics even at the age of 82 just to take on people like Modi who are trying to spoil the country’s secular fabric.

The Congress president also poohpoohed Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for his frequent flip-flops. “RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav often says that his ‘chacha’ was hijacked. I suggest him to let Nitish remain hijacked as he has grown older. There is no need to take him back. Nitish has no ideology. He can ditch anyone for political gains,” Kharge said in Katihar.

The Congress president held the NDA govts at the Centre and in state responsible for the plights of the Seemanchal people. “Seemanchal is still considered a backward region. People from the region, once the textile hub of the state, migrate to other places to seek jobs. Nitish remained in power in the state for more than 15 years. What has he done for the Seemanchal region despite being part of the so-called double-engine govt?” Kharge asked.

He highlighted the party’s poll manifesto and talked about conducting a nationwide socio-economic and caste census, amending Constitution to raise 50% cap on reservations for SC, ST and OBC communities, launching the Mahalakshmi scheme to provide Rs 1 lakh per year to every poor Indian family and filling nearly 40 lakh vacancies in sanctioned posts at various levels in the central govt.

This was Kharge’s first visit to the state after the announcement of Lok Sabha poll schedule. However, no key leader from the INDIA bloc attended Kharge’s twin rallies as RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was busy with his own programmes.

Congress’s Tariq Anwar and Mohd Jawed are pitted against JD (U)’s Dulal Chandra Goswami and Mujahid Alam in Katihar and Kishanganj Lok Sabha seats, respectively. Three Seemanchal districts – Kishanganj, Katihar and Purnia – are among the five constituencies in the state where elections will be held in the second phase on April 26. The other two districts going to polls in the second phase are Bhagalpur and Banka.