Mumbai, Jul 9 (Zee News): Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the latter’s attack on the grand old party. Talking to mediapersons at a function in Mumbai, the veteran leader said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Modi could become the Prime Minister of the country because the Congress preserved democracy.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been asking, at every function, about what the Congress has done for the country in the past 70 years. A chaiwala like him could become Prime Minister because we preserved democracy, said Kharge.

He also took on the Prime Minister over the issue of Emergency, saying that while Modi talks about the Emergency that happened 43 years back, there has been an undeclared Emergency in the country since the BJP-led NDA came to power in 2014.

“Modi speaks about Emergency that happened 43 years back, but what about the undeclared Emergency in last four years? Farmers are committing suicide, agricultural schemes are failing, farmers aren't getting new loans and trade is on slow track,” he said.

This comes days after the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launched a scathing attack on the Congress party over the issue of Emergency imposed by former prime minister Indira Gandhi. Targeting the Gandhi family, the Prime Minister had claimed that Emergency was imposed for the benefit of only one family.

"The greed of staying in power was such that democracy was sacrificed. Political leaders who were widely respected were put behind bars. It was all done so that one family - the Gandhi family - could benefit," Prime Minister Modi had said.

The BJP observed a black day to mark the anniversary of Emergency wherein Prime Minister Modi alleged that the Congress had always raised the fear of the country being in crisis whenever the Gandhi family feared losing its position.

"Whenever the family has feared losing its position, it keeps shouting that the Country is in crisis and there is an atmosphere of fear... The party which has no internal democracy cannot be expected to adhere to the ideals of democracy," he had said.