Taking exception to BJP leader and former Home Minister Araga Jnanendra’s sarcastic comment on All India Congress Committee (AICC) president M. Mallikarjun Kharge’s skin colour, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge held that Mr. Jnanendra’s comment is not just his words but it reeks of Keshava Krupa’s influence.
Taking to Twitter late on Wednesday, Priyank Kharge said: “The words you [Mr. Jnanendra] spoke are not just yours alone, they are the words influenced by Keshava Krupa [State Headquarters of the RSS]. They are the intolerant words hidden deep inside the BJP against the exploited.”
Specifically referring to Mr. Jnanendra’s comment on Mallikarjun Kharge’s skin colour, Priyank Kharge said that what is black is his [Mr. Jnanendra’s] mentality and not the people of Kalyana Karnataka.
“Those who had exploited the working masses and eaten the free fruits of their labour in the name of Varnashrama for centuries might have fair skin. Those who work hard and eat with dignity have their skin blackened by the Sun. If Mr. Jnanendra toils hard for a day, his skin will also turn dark,” Priyank Kharge said.
Priyank Kharge, who is the son of Mallikarjun Kharge, held that Mr. Jnanendra’s words made it clear that the BJP, which upheld and loved Varnashrama preached by Manu Smriti, has an extreme intolerance towards the political progress of Dalits.
“The intolerance [of the BJP] will burn and blacken the BJP itself. For, it is not the age of Manu Smriti but that of Baba Saheb’s Constitution,” he said.
Mr. Jnanendra commented on Mallikarjun Kharge’s dark skin and Minister Eshwar Khandre’s knowledge on forest and trees, during a protest staged at Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district on Tuesday against Mr. Khandre’s statement on Kasturirangan Committee report.
