'My Sincere Regret': Kharge Apologizes After ‘Illiterate Gujarat’ Remark

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday expressed regret over remarks from a recent election speech in Kerala, saying they were "deliberately misinterpreted" and affirming his respect for the people of Gujarat.

In a post on X, Kharge wrote, "Some remarks of mine in a recent election speech in Kerala are being deliberately misinterpreted."

"Even so, I express my sincere regret. It was never my intention to hurt the sentiments of the people of Gujarat for whom I have always had and will continue to have the highest of respect," the Congress president added.

This comes after a poll campaign in Kerala's Idukki district, Congress president sought to make a comparison between people in Keralam and in Gujarat as he attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and said the two leaders "can fool people who are illiterate in Gujarat or in other places" but not in the poll-bound state.

"Don't misguide the people of Keralam. They are very clever, they are educated. Modi ji, Vijay (Pinarayi Vijayan), you both can fool people who are illiterate in Gujarat or in other places, but you can't fool Keralam people," he said.

His remarks drew strong criticism from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and ignited a nationwide political debate.

BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi slammed Kharge over his remarks and said the Congress party has "never done justice to the enlightened people of Keralam".

"This statement by the Congress National President, Mallikarjun Kharge, is part of a deliberate strategy by the Congress party, which wants to prove the dream of 'Bharat tere tukde honge, Inshallah'," Trivedi said.

"This isn't the first time this statement has been made. Chidambaram had said that if the North hadn't existed, the South would have been far ahead. This is the same Congress party whose Finance Minister in Kharge's state had said that the South pays more taxes and should therefore separate from the North...", the BJP MP said.

"This is the same Congress party whose Chief Minister of Telangana had made this statement by name regarding the DNA of the people of Bihar...," Trivedi said.

"The people of Keralam are very enlightened and are now demonstrating their enlightenment. That's why, after 45 years of Left rule in Thiruvananthapuram, the BJP won the municipal elections," he added.

Keralam will witness polls on April 9, and results will be announced on May 4 along with Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry.

(With inputs from ANI)