“It was the Razakars – not the entire Muslim community,” is how Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank responded day after Yogi Adityanath brought up the 1948 Razakar violence to attack the senior Kharge, reminding him how his mother and sister died in the incident while accusing him of “vote bank politics.”
In a long post on X, Priyank Kharge attempted to shut down the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, saying that every community has individuals who do wrong and urging him to “take your hate elsewhere.”
“Try winning the elections on PM Narendra Modi's 'achievements' instead of trying to sow seeds of hatred in the society for political gains,” the Congress leader said.
Priyank Kharge argued that his father never exploited the Razakar violence tragedy for political gain and never played the victim card, letting hatred define him.
Expanding on the Razakar violence, Priyank Kharge said, “In 1948, the Razakars burned down Sri* @khargeji’s house, taking the lives of his mother and sister. Though he narrowly escaped, he survived and rose to become a 9 time MLA, twice Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MP, central minister, the Leader of the Lok Sabha, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and an elected @INCIndia President. Despite the tragedy, he never exploited it for political gain, never played the victim card and never let hatred define him.”
“It was the Razakars who committed this act—not the entire Muslim community. Every community has bad apples and individuals who do wrong. So, tell me CM saab, your ideology fails to see Kharge Ji as an equal, it discriminates between human beings, does that make all of you bad or those who are practicing it?” he asked.
The Congress leader said, “At 82, Kharge Ji is fighting tirelessly to uphold the values of Buddha-Basavanna-Ambedkar and to protect the Constitution from the tyranny and hatred you seek to instill and he will continue this fight with unwavering conviction.” Also Read | Who are you? Who am I? Razakar!: Explaining the war cry in Bangladesh protests and Razakar’s 1971 role
“Yogi Ji, take your hate elsewhere. You cannot bulldoze his principles or his ideology.”
While speaking at an election rally in Maharashtra's Achalpur, Yogi Adityanath cited an incident where Mallikarjun Kharge's family was a victim of the violence carried out by the Razakars of Hyderabad's Nizam, allegedly burning the family members of the Congress chief.
Adityanath's response against Kharge came after the latter criticised his “batenge to katenge” remark ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections.
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