"Still insist on licking it...": Kharge draws parallels between PM Modi and poison

Kalaburagi (Karnataka) [India], May 25 (ANI): Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he drew parallels between the latter and poison.
While addressing a press conference in Karnataka's Kalaburagi on Friday, Kharge said, "Maa Ganga has called him (PM Modi). He is talking about 2047 plans... 2047 tak shaaswat bhi rahenge agar (if he stays alive till 2047). Sometimes he goes diving in sea, sometimes he takes dips in Ganga waters, sometimes he goes into caves, sometimes he meditates alone. I don't know, maybe he will get the fruits of all this 'tapasya'."
"I believe that if you work then you get to fill your stomach. If you do good work, then the results will be good. If you commit bad things, bad results will be there. If somebody does bad things and still gets good things, that's upto them. If I say this is poison and don't touch it, and if you still insist on licking it, then what will be the result? Modi is like that," he added.
BJP leader Shazia Ilmi criticised the Congress chief saying that he has "cursed our Prime Minister with malicious intent."
"In his statement today, Kharge Ji has said that if PM Modi will even be there. This is the party that speaks of 'Mohabbat Ki Dukan'. 'Mohabat ki Dukan mein bikta hai nafrat ka saaman'. He has cursed our Prime Minister with malicious intent. The people of the country are watching and understanding the character of this party," Shazia Ilmi said.
Earlier in April last year, Kharge was caught in a similar row amid the high-decibel campaign for the Karnataka Assembly elections. During a public rally in the state, the Congress chief likened PM Modi to a "poisonous snake", drawing sharp reaction from BJP.
Kharge later issued a clarificiation saying his remark wasn't directed at the Prime Minister but at the BJP and its "divisive" ideology. (ANI)