PM Modi Cracks Up At Mallikarjun Kharge's ‘Abki Baar 400 Paar' Remark in Rajya Sabha; WATCH

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said the BJP will easily win with a majority in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. His remarks prompted PM Modi and other BJP leaders to smile sarcastically and beat their tables.

He said, “BJP already has people’s mandate. Earlier, we were looking at more than 300 seats for the saffron party in the upcoming polls. But now BJP has claimed it will win over 400 seats (abki baar, 400 paar),” triggering cheers and laughter from BJP leaders.

Reacting to Kharge’s statement, Karnataka BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje said, “He said the right thing. It will soon be a reality.”

Minister of Earth Sciences of India Kiren Rijiju also responded to Kharge’s remarks and said, “It is a fact. Even Rahul Gandhi spoke about BJP’s popularity after the recent general assembly polls.”

Kharge was speaking in Rajya Sabha during the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present.

KHARGE RAKES UP JHARKHAND ISSUE

The Congress also spoke about the Jharkhand political scenario at length. He said anyone who did not obey the government was being sent to jail.

He criticised Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan for not immediately calling Champai Soren to form the government despite the JMM-led coalition seeking to submit letters of support. Hemant Soren had resigned on January 31 and Champai had attempted to stake claim. The Governor invited him to form the government on February 1.

Kharge sought to compare the case of Nitish Kumar, who dumped the I.N.D.I.A. alliance to join NDA, taking oath swiftly with the developments in Jharkhand. He said the alliance had the support of 47 MLAs and signatures of 43 were already presented but there was a delay in calling Champai Soren. The Congress president asked why there was no delay in Nitish’s swearing-in while pointing out that he resigned in the morning and was sworn in by the evening. “Why did this not happen in Jharkhand?”

He also mentioned that over 411 legislators had switched sides in the last 10 years, adding that the BJP-led Centre was supporting turncoats and disrespecting democracy over and over again. He said soon there would be no need to hold elections as there was no democracy in the country.