Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, May 3: Congress party, taking note of the political overtones Prime Minister, Narendra Modi's claim that Congress had insulted former Prime Minister, Deve Gowda, has been acquiring, is into damage control mode now. The party has clarified that its national president, Rahul Gandhi, had never made such disparaging statement about Deve Gowda as claimed. It also asked Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to tender apologies to the general public for lying to them.

Congress party also said that during the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi had said that Deve Gowda would be assigned to the home for the aged in Gujarat. It asked Modi to apologize for this statement.

Anand Sharma

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday May 2 at Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office here, former union minister, Anand Sharma, asserted that Congress never supports or promotes the culture of insulting senior persons. He said that when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi had, on several occasions, behaved in a way that was insulting to the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. He also asked Modi to offer unconditional apology for this behaviour. "We know how BJP's own leaders including L K Advani are being treated in that party," he commented.

"Deve Gowda is a former Prime Minister of India, and Congress had supported his elevation to that post. Rahul Gandhi never spoke about him disrespectfully. Narendra Modi has made it a habit to spread malaise and falsehood. Because of these qualities, the people of the country have become disillusioned with him. With the defeat of BJP in the assembly election here, its funeral procession will begin and it will culminate with the party's debacle in the 2019 Lok Sabha election," he stated.