A senior Congress leader in Madhya Pradesh, Raja Pateria, has triggered a massive controversy with a speech in which he is heard goading his audience to "kill" Prime Minister Narendra Modi if they want to "save" the Constitution. He immediately clarifies that by "killing" he means "defeating", but that has hardly helped. The Congress is facing a huge backlash, in the middle of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, with several BJP leaders calling for Mr Pateria's arrest.
The Madhya Pradesh government has ordered a police case against Mr Pateria, a former state minister. A union minister has called it an "unpardonable crime". Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has targeted Rahul Gandhi, saying in a video: "The real face of those pretending to do a Bharat Jodo Yatra is coming out."
In his viral remarks, Mr Pateria tells what appears to be a gathering of party workers: "Modi will end elections, Modi will divide on the basis of religion, caste, language; the lives of Dalits, tribals, and minorities are in danger. If the constitution is to be saved, then be ready to kill Modi."
Later in the same video, the Congress leader claims the word "murder" in his speech means defeat. He said he follows Mahatma Gandhi's ideology of non-violence, and that he meant it was necessary to defeat PM Modi electorally to protect minorities.
The video has emerged from Pawai town in Panna district.
Chief Minister Chouhan said the comments exposed the Congress's "real sentiment". "The respected PM Modi lives in the hearts of the people, he is the centre of the admiration and faith of the entire country. Congress people can't face the PM in the electoral battle, and one Congress leader talks about his murder. This is the height of jealousy. This is excess hatred. Congress's real sentiments have been revealed, but such things won't be tolerated. An FIR is being registered, and the law will take its course," he said.
Home Minister Narottam Mishra has ordered a First Information Report. "Such statements show that today's Congress is not Mahatma Gandhi's Congress. It's the Congress of Italy that is afflicted with a Mussolini mindset," he said.
Union minister Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi called Raja Pateria's remark against the Prime Minister "an unpardonable crime". "Even if Raja Patria declares himself mentally unsound, he should not get away with this crime. I request the government of Madhya Pradesh that immediate and strict action should be taken against Raja Pateria," he said in a video appeal.
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