‘Rahul Gandhi gave his life for nation,’ says Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge in a gaffe; apologises

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday mistakenly said that leaders like Rahul Gandhi gave their lives for the country. He quickly corrected himself and apologised for the gaffe but apparently not swiftly enough. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to poke fun at the Congress President and shared a clip from Kharge’s speech.

Speaking at a rally in Rajasthan’s Anupgarh, Kharge said, "Leaders like Rahul Gandhi gave their lives for this nation's unity.” He was immediately alerted about his gaffe and he corrected himself. 

"I apologise. I mistakenly said Rahul Gandhi...Rajiv Gandhi gave his life for the nation's unity. Congress has leaders who gave their life for the nation while the BJP has leaders who take lives,” Mallikarjun Kharge said.

BJP posted the clip on social media along with the caption “Yeh kab hua? (When did this happen?)” in Hindi.

Rajasthan is going to polls on November 25, following which the results will be declared on December 3. BJP and Congress are yet again in loggerheads in the polling state. 

Congress has blamed the policies of the Modi administration in the Centre to have led to “skyrocketing inflation” in the country. Congress leader Lokesh Sharma said that despite the Centre’s policies, they are blaming the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan for it. 

Sharma accused the BJP campaign for “misleading allegations” and added that the Congress is focussed on development and performance of the Gehlot government. Sharma also stated that there is a wave in favour of the Congress. 

"When the people were troubled due to constantly increasing fuel prices, LPG cylinder prices and inflation in the past few years and were demanding relief, Modi never bothered to give a statement and now he blames the Rajasthan government for inflation," he said. "The entire election campaign of the BJP is based on polarisation,” he added.

Meanwhile, BJP chief JP Nadda said on Monday that states with Congress in power have suffered the ills of corruption and atrocities. On the other hand, BJP is synonymous with development, he said in an election rally in Rajsamand. 

"Today Rajasthan tops in corruption, crime against women, insult to farmers and atrocities on backward people. In the politics of appeasement, Rajasthan stands at number one," he said. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in an election rally in Rajasthan, said there was no development in the state over the past five years during the Congress rule.

Also read: Telangana Roundtable 2023: 'Rahul Gandhi can't defeat BJP, he is biggest asset for Modi ji,' says KTR