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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, September 14, accused Congress of “insulting” legendary singer Bhupen Hazarika in 2019, saying he can endure personal attacks but will not accept disrespect towards others. Addressing a public gathering in Assam’s Darrang, PM Modi said the Opposition may hurl abuses at him, as he is Lord Shiva’s devotee and “can swallow all poison.”
PM Narendra Modi said, “Mujhe kitne hi gaaliya de, main bhagwan Shiv ka bhakt hoon, saara zehar nigal leta hoon [No matter how much you abuse me, I am a devotee of Lord Shiva, I swallow all the poison]. But when someone else is insulted, I cannot tolerate that.”
Referring to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s remarks back in 2019, PM Modi said that he can tolerate “gaaliyan” (abuses) hurled at him but not at ‘Bhupen Da’.
He asked, “You people tell me, is my decision of honouring Bhupen Da with Bharat Ratna right or wrong? Is the insult done by the Congress party for honouring him with Bharat Ratna right or wrong?”
PM Modi said he was “deeply hurt” at Mallikarjun Kharge’s remarks when the latter questioned Bharat Ratna for a singer instead of late spiritual leader Dr Shivakumara Swami of Karnataka.
He said, “We have already celebrated the birthday of Bharat Ratna Sudhakantha Bhupen Hazarika Ji. Yesterday, I got the opportunity to be a part of a very big program organised in his honour. The Chief Minister showed me a video of the President of the Congress Party, and I was deeply hurt after seeing this.”
“The day the Government of India gave Bharat Ratna to the great son of this country, the pride of Assam, Bhupen Hazarika Ji. The President of the Congress Party had said that Modi is giving Bharat Ratna to dancers and singers.”
“After the war with China in 1962, what Pandit Nehru said, those wounds of the people of the North East have not been healed even today,” PM Modi added.
What did Mallikarjun Kharge say?
In 2019, Mallikarjun Kharge had questioned the decision of the Central government to confer Bharat Ratna to Bhupen Hazarika, demanding the same honour be conferred to Lingayat seer Shivakumara Swami.
Speaking to ANI, Kharge had said, “The government had seen his [Shivakumara Swami] work. Even then the BJP government did not give him the award. This is sad. A singer and a man who propagated RSS ideology have also been awarded. If you compare all of them, then Shivakumara Swami Ji should have been given the award.”
