Ghaziabad, Oct 31 — Drawing parallels of current politics with Hindu epic Mahabharata, Former Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam said on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is 'Arjun' and will break through all the 'Chakravyuhas' (traps), asserting that in 2029, the oath-taking ceremony for his fourth term as the Prime Minister will resonate across the country.
Speaking to IANS, Krishnam said, "Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the entire Kaurava clan and the Kaurava faction are coming together. All the Kauravas are uniting and attacking PM Narendra Modi, thinking of him as Abhimanyu."
"All these Kauravas, all the great warriors, and the entire Kaurava clan gathering in the Opposition should understand very clearly that PM Narendra Modi is not Abhimanyu; he is Arjuna," he added.
He also claimed that PM Modi will break all the Chakravyuhas.
"He (PM Modi) will break all the Chakravyuhas, and in 2029, the oath will echo: 'I, Narendra Modi, taking oath for the fourth time as the Prime Minister of India,'" Krishnam said.
The former Congress leader also took a swipe at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, saying that he had now become an object of pity.
"Mallikarjun Kharge has now become an object of pity. He is no longer a spark. A spent cartridge and extinguished ashes cannot explode," he told IANS.
His remarks came amid a political row over Kharge's alleged 'baap' jibe at Prime Minister Modi during an event in Patna.
Amid the uproar, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury came to the defence of the party President, describing the controversy as an attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Chowdhury said that Kharge's remark was metaphorical, rooted in local jargon, and was not meant to be taken literally.
He said the expression implied that even someone stronger than PM Modi could be defeated.
"The government of our country always tries to find a little hole anywhere. They know the art of making a mountain out of a molehill. What our President said was meant metaphorically -- that even someone stronger than PM Modi can be defeated," he added.
"This is a local jargon. It means that someone may be stronger than PM Modi. It was used in a metaphorical manner; it does not literally mean 'father'," Chowdhury added.
The remarks have triggered a political debate, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticising Kharge’s comments while Congress leaders maintain that the statement was being misinterpreted.