No freedom of speech inside or outside Parl, alleges Kharge

New Delhi: Hitting out at the BJP-led Government at the Centre, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday alleged there is no freedom of speech in the country. Kharge also expressed anguish, claiming that parts of his speech in Parliament were expunged.

“There is neither freedom of speech inside Parliament, nor outside. If someone speaks the truth, writes about it, shows it then they (BJP) send him or her behind the bars,” alleged Kharge addressing a rally in Jharkhand’s Sahebganj district.

The Congress president was speaking at Gumani Ground in Pakur after launching the party’s 60-day ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo’ mass outreach programme in the state.

“I did not use any unparliamentary word or language to describe the prime minister… Atal Bihari Vajpayee had used the same expression for former PM PV Narasimha Rao and the BJP used it for former PM Manmohan Singh,” Kharge said.

The Congress president also came down heavily on the BJP over the Adani issue. When Rahul Gandhi raised this issue in Parliament it was also expunged, he said. “BJP inducts many MLAs who face ED, IT, CBI cases… Modi and Shah have bought a washing machine in which they wash the blemishes of such MLAs who then come out clean,” he said.