Karnataka BJP MLA says, ‘Congress has dogs from Italy barking for Pakistan, China’

A BJP leader from Karnataka, CT Ravi, criticised Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for calling the BJP a ‘dog’ and charged that the grand old party was promoting the narrative of China and Pakistan.

CT Ravi took a jab at the Congress for persistently bringing up the issue of the clashes between China and India, especially its leader Rahul Gandhi, who claimed that China was preparing for a full-scale war, ‘No dog from Italy Congress has barked on behalf of India. It barks in support of China, Pakistan but never for India. It wags its tail for China and Pakistan. This dog is not from Mahatma Gandhi’s party but from Italy and it barks against India.’

During the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Kharge called someone a ‘dog,’ and CT Ravi responded, ‘I would like to ask Mr Kharge a question. Let’s agree that Congress has contributed to the freedom of the country but was this contribution done to loot independent India? Was the contribution done to scoop up money and property enough to run through the next five generations of your family?’

‘When you say not one dog from BJP participated in the freedom struggle, do you mean to say that all the dogs from Congress fought for Independence to get five-star treatment from all the money they’ve looted? The Congress that fought for Independence is different from the present day Congress. The era of the Indian National Congress has ended and the present party is Italy Congress,’ he added.

In his speech to a crowd in Alwar, Rajasthan, during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, Mallikarjun Kharge took aim at the BJP and claimed the Centre was hiding information about the recent India-China skirmish along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh.

‘We (Congress) gave freedom to the country and Indira and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives for the unity of the country. Our party leaders gave their lives. What did you (BJP) do? Did any of your dogs die for the country?’ Mallikarjun Kharge had asked.

In Parliament, a number of BJP leaders have called for Kharge to retract his statements, claiming they were in poor taste. Kharge, however, has declined to apologise and defended himself by claiming that the comments were made outside of Parliament and shouldn’t be brought up in the House.