“You can imagine Congress mindset…”: Anurag Thakur on Kharge skipping Independence Day event at Red Fort

New Delhi [India], August 15 (ANI): Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday slammed the Congress over party chief Mallikarjun Kharge skipping the main 77th Independence Day function held at Red Fort and said it reflects “Congress mindset”.

Kharge, however, clarified that he had to attend the Independence Day event at the Congress office and could not have made it on time due to security protocols if he had gone for the function at Red Fort.        

Attacking Congress, Anurag Thakur said when they were in power “they had a habit of attacking constitutional institutions”.

“If a leader of the main Opposition party and a Leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha has not come to the event then you can imagine the Congress mindset. Now when they are in opposition, they are ….like a fish without water,” Thakur said.  

Kharge also said that he had eye-related problems.

“Firstly, I have some eye-related problems. Secondly, I had to hoist the Tricolour at my residence at 9.20 am as per protocols. Then I had to come to the Congress office and hoist the Tricolour here too. So, I could not have reached here,” he said. 

“The security is so tight that they don’t let anyone else leave before the PM leaves. I thought that I will not be able to reach here on time. I thought it better to not go there to the security situation and lack of time,” he added. 

In his address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took veiled dig at Congress and some other opposition parties, saying corruption and appeasement politics have damaged the country.

The Prime Minister said there is a need to fight corruption, dynasty and appeasement.

“‘Parivarvaad’ and appeasement have caused immense damage to the country. How can a political party have only one family in charge? For them, their life mantra is ‘Party of the family, by the family and for the family,’” he said.