Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 4 : Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday hit back at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over allegations of foreign funding to the Congress, questioning the evidence behind the claims. He dared PM Modi to participate in an open debate on the issue, with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as the moderator.
Reacting to the allegations, Kharge questioned the competence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and intelligence agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), for making such claims without presenting evidence.
"If the BJP, including the Home Minister, is saying that Congress is being funded by foreign agencies and they're not able to produce a shred of paper or a shred of evidence, this shows the competence level of Amit Shah, EAM Jaishankar and RAW. What is the IB doing? What is RAW doing? On what basis are these comments being made?" Kharge said while addressing a press conference.
Backing Rahul Gandhi's challenge to the Prime Minister for an open debate, the Karnataka Minister suggested that the discussion should cover allegations of foreign funding involving the Congress, BJP and RSS, with Mohan Bhagwat moderating it.
"Rahul Gandhi has openly challenged that: 'Please expose us. Let us have a debate. Let us debate on who's getting foreign funding, whether it is Congress, whether it is BJP, or whether it is RSS.' And let the moderator be Mohan Bhagwat. Let him be the moderator. Let us, and let it be an open debate with the people of the country with an open press, and then we will let PM Modi answer whatever he says... let him justify whatever he has to say," he said.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Tarun Chugh hit back at Rahul Gandhi over his challenge to Prime Minister Modi, accusing the Lok Sabha LoP of avoiding debates in Parliament and questioning his political record.
"Rahul Gandhi, you are not ready for a debate in Parliament; you are at a loss of words. Your record is zero. Your facts are zero. You've been losing 100 elections in a row, and you're acting in a way that has the people of this country ready to defeat you in the next 100. Sometimes you say the EVMs are bad, then you say the Election Commission is bad..." Chugh said.
He further accused Gandhi of spreading confusion and attempting to defame the country and its institutions.
"Rahul ji, you have the image of a coward. You're shameless, you spread confusion, you conspire to defame the country, and you defame the country's justice system. You have the image of one who runs away from Parliament..." he added.
The remarks came after Rahul Gandhi intensified his challenge to Prime Minister Modi for an open debate by launching a poll on X, asking young Indians whether they wanted to see the two leaders engage in a face-to-face discussion.
Gandhi also tagged Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, urging them to convince the Prime Minister to accept his challenge.
"Youth of India, do you want to see a Rahul Gandhi vs Narendra Modi open debate? @rajnathsingh ji, @nitin_gadkari ji, @ChouhanShivraj ji, @myogiadityanath ji - you always have the PM's best interest in mind; please convince him to come," Gandhi posted on Tuesday.
The poll featured two options; "Yes - Modi Ji, Daro Mat" and "No - Modi Ji, Dar Gaye."