ED, CBI, Modi, Chouhan, and IT Department Are ‘Panch Pandav’: Kharge

On Tuesday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and the three central agencies of the ED, CBI, and Income Tax were the “panch Pandav” that his party was battling.

While campaigning for the Madhya Pradesh elections on November 17, he said at a public assembly that the central agencies were fighting on favor of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“The BJP has four candidates, whereas Congress only has one (per seat). One (party) candidate is visible, but there are three others who are not. One of them is ED, which is running a campaign like to that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Income Tax is a third candidate, according to Kharge, and the CBI is a second that targets the (rival) candidates in an effort to undermine them.

The Congress politician said, “Aside from these three, there’s Modi and Chouhan. They are like ‘panch Pandav,’ not of the old times but of the present, who are trying to defeat us.”

Kharge said, “But we have to give them a lesson.”

He said that the ED was intimidating Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and harassing leaders of the party in Chhattisgarh, a state held by the Congress, ahead of elections.

“This is not a fair and democratic process; rather, there are threats and intimidation tactics in place,” he said.

The Mahadev betting app’s proprietors allegedly paid Baghel Rs 508 crore, according to a “cash courier” whose testimony the ED claimed to have recorded last Thursday and designated as a “subject matter of investigation.”

Kharge criticized BJP politicians for enquiring about what the Congress has done for the nation, saying, “The Congress has saved the nation and its Constitution, which is why they became chief ministers.” Instead of fighting for the nation’s democracy and independence, these BJP leaders have sided with the British. The nation’s image may have been different if we hadn’t made an attempt.

He stated that Congress leaders Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi gave their life in defense of the nation.

The Congress would effect change, according to Kharge, who said that the BJP-led government in Madhya Pradesh was “number one in corruption, farmer suicides, crime against women, malnutrition, and unemployment”.

He remarked, “They called themselves a double-engine government and were in power for the last 18 years in Madhya Pradesh and for ten years in the country, but they could not solve the problems of the people of the state.”

Speaking of the Congress’s many “guarantees” (promises made in polls), he said that it will carry out a caste census to determine the precise number of members in each caste and create policies for them in accordance with that information.

Speaking at a rally in Bhopal, Kharge questioned why Modi was visiting areas that were headed for elections, such Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, rather than Manipur, which had seen widespread ethnic violence earlier this year.

He further accused the saffron party of creating a “nafrat ki dukan” (shop of hate) in contrast to the Congress’s “mohabbat ki dukan” (shop of love), saying that had the BJP come to power soon after Independence, it would have enforced Manu Smriti in India.

“PM Modi hasn’t visited Manipur, where there have been fighting, vehicle fires, looting, and destroyed homes. With the exception of Mizoram, he is traveling to Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Rajasthan, all of which are holding elections,” he said.

According to Kharge, the Congress aims to control inflation.

Out of the 230 MP seats, our administration will hold more than 150 of them. We’ll reduce inflation,” he said.

The head of the Congress said that the BJP seeks to start fires wherever there is tranquility.

“They constantly have gasoline in their hands and a matchbox in their wallets…Nowhere have they discussed peace. Manu’s rules would have been put into effect “for making the rich richer and the poor poorer, had they formed the nation’s first government (after Independence),” the speaker said.

According to Kharge, the country’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, enhanced democracy, and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar drafted a Constitution granting everyone the right to vote.

He said that Nehru established large enterprises in Bhopal and other places, which were now being offered for sale to investors.

“Thousands of people are employed in these industries…There are fewer jobs since they are either closing or being sold to businesspeople.For those in the reserved category, this has resulted in fewer employment,” he said.