"But he attended family-controlled program..." Union Minister Puri after Kharge skips Red Fort event on I-Day
Aug 15, 2023
New Delhi [India], August 15 : As the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge skipped the 77th Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday took a jibe at the former saying that "he attended the family-controlled program."
Earlier in the day, Mallikarjun Kharge skipped the Independence Day function at the Red Fort from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation. A picture of an empty seat reserved for the Congress president also did rounds on social media, with BJP saying that it reflects “the grand old party's mindset”.
Kharge, however, cited eye-related problems and clarified that he had to attend the Independence Day event at the Congress office and could not have made it on time due to security protocols if he had gone for the function at Red Fort.
"Firstly, I have some eye-related problems. Secondly, I had to hoist the Tricolour at my residence at 9.20 am as per protocols. Then I had to come to the Congress office and hoist the Tricolour here too. So, I could not have reached here," Kharge had said.
"The security is so tight that they don't let anyone else leave before the PM leaves. I thought that I will not be able to reach here on time. I thought it better to not go there to the security situation and lack of time," he had added.
Responding to it, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that if the Congress leader has an eye-related problem he should get it checked.
"I think Mallikarjun Kharge had some problem in his eyes, he should get it checked. He did not attend the Independence Day program at Red Fort because of this eye problem but he attended the family-controlled program...," Puri said while talking to reporters.
Attacking Congress, Anurag Thakur said, “If a leader of the main Opposition party and a Leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha has not come to the event then you can imagine the Congress mindset. Now when they are in opposition, they are ….like a fish without water."
Meanwhile, in his address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort, PM Modi took a veiled dig at Congress and some other opposition parties, saying corruption and appeasement politics have damaged the country.
The Prime Minister said there is a need to fight corruption, dynasty and appeasement.
"'Parivarvaad' and appeasement have caused immense damage to the country. How can a political party have only one family in charge? For them, their life mantra is 'Party of the family, by the family and for the family,’" PM Modi said.
