New Delhi, April 7 The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday condemned Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s statement comparing the BJP and the RSS to "poisonous snakes," alleging that it is inflammatory and capable of triggering communal unrest.
VHP president Alok Kumar said Kharge’s remarks amount to a direct incitement to violence.
“Congress president Kharge, at a public meeting, made remarks aimed at inciting a communal frenzy. He said that if members of the RSS and the BJP come in front of you, one should leave the namaz and attack them first. This is a direct call to violence and an attempt to spread hatred among Hindus and Muslims.
"He further suggested that if you do not kill, you will be killed," Kumar alleged, adding that the Congress leader is seeking to instil fear among minority communities.
"He is invoking the Quran to say that one should not merely leave but 'break' the namaz and attack first. If violence follows, Kharge will be directly responsible," he said.
During a poll campaign in Assam on Monday, Kharge reportedly, citing the Quran, said that if one is offering namaz and sees a poisonous snake passing by, they should leave the namaz and kill that snake.
"The RSS and the BJP are poisonous snakes," Kharge allegedly said.
Terming the remarks "shameful," Kumar questioned whether a Rajya Sabha member can make such statements.
"He has taken an oath to uphold the constitution. Can such statements be justified? He has clearly violated provisions of the law.
"Whether driven by frustration or a sense of defeat, he is a Rajya Sabha member of a big party with a 100-year history. If he makes such frenzied statements, calls for violence and spreads hostility among communities, it is deeply condemnable," Kumar said in a video statement.
He asked the Congress to clarify its stand, warning that silence would be seen as endorsement.
“If the Congress does not condemn this, it will be taken as a deliberate and calculated statement. The people of the country must respond appropriately — through democratic means, through their votes, and otherwise as well,” he said.
Polls for the 126-member Assam Assembly will be held on April 9.