Congress President Kharge Clarifies He Did Not Call PM Modi a Terrorist, Accuses Him of Facilitating Political Intimidation via Agency Raids

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge clarified on Tuesday that he did not call Prime Minister Narendra Modi a terrorist in a literal sense but accused him of facilitating terrorism by using central investigative agencies to scare political opponents.

Speaking to reporters in Karnataka’s Kalburgi, Kharge said his remarks were made in the context of alleged misuse of agencies like the CBI, ED, and Income Tax Department to target politicians and defeat them in elections.

“I did not speak against the PM. The PM is terrorising politicians, candidates and regarding this, I said that tax terrorism is happening, ED is conducting raids, Income Tax Dept is conducting raids, and CBI is conducting raids. This terrorism is being facilitated by the PM. I did not call him a terrorist; he is facilitating terrorism to scare people. He is trying to silence people through raids and attempting to defeat them in elections. This is what I said in Chennai,” Kharge told ANI.

The clarification came after a political uproar over his earlier remarks, which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) condemned as “grossly derogatory” and formally complained about to the Election Commission.

The BJP accused Kharge of bringing shame to the nation by calling the Prime Minister a terrorist and demanded a public apology, while Congress maintained that the statement was taken out of context and misrepresented.

Kharge reiterated that his intent was to highlight what he described as the misuse of central agencies for political intimidation, not to make a personal allegation against the Prime Minister.