Kalaburagi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being a "party of terrorists," claiming that the saffron party's leaders are involved in acts of lynching, rape of tribals, and disrespecting Scheduled Castes. Kharge's remarks came in response to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's assertion that the Congress supports urban naxal groups.

As reported by IANS, Kharge said, "They (BJP) always do this; they were quiet all these days, and when they got some life (referring to win in Haryana elections), they are back at it. They are talking about urban naxals, calling intellectuals as urban naxals. It has become a habit for them to make allegations." Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kharge said the former has "no right to criticise Congress as the Scheduled Castes were being raped in BJP-ruled states."

Talking about Congress' defeat in the Haryana Assembly polls, Kharge said: "We are introspecting it and after getting a report from the party, we will know what happened. The whole nation was claiming that the Congress would win in Haryana. Even BJP leaders claimed that they won't come back."

Even exit polls have predicted Congress' win in the Haryana Assembly polls, he said. He added: "INDIA bloc fought in Jammu and Kashmir. In Haryana, there is no such alliance. When you win many will take the credit. But if you lose, many will criticise you. We will unitedly handle the situation."

On atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh, Kharge said: "They (Bangladesh government) have to protect minorities irrespective of whether they are Hindus and Sikhs. It is their duty. If they are not ensuring this, it won't be good for our neighbouring countries." Last week, PM Modi said that Urban Naxals have taken over the Congress.