Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has declined to comment on the controversy surrounding the proposed ban on the Bajrang Dal in the party’s Karnataka manifesto. Dr. Parameshwara, the chairman of the drafting committee, has already addressed the issue, said Kharge, adding that he doesn’t need to give his individual opinion after the party’s people have already replied. When asked about Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s claim that Bajrang Dal leaders will revolt against Congress, Kharge responded that the party is not obliged to answer to Bommai’s queries, and if he wants to say anything, their people at the state level will respond. The Congress had previously promised to take strong and decisive action against groups such as the Bajrang Dal and the Popular Front of India (PFI), including banning them for spreading hatred among communities over religion and caste in its manifesto for the May 10 assembly elections in Karnataka. In response, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress of attempting to lock up Lord Hanuman’s devotees, to which the Congress replied that the prime minister had insulted their faith in Lord Hanuman.
