Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Oct 12: The BJP on Saturday hit back at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for calling the former a "party of terrorists", saying the opposition party which always supported terrorists is now levelling allegations against it.

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the Congress which stood for orthodox Islamic practices like triple talaq, halala and hijab is now making all kinds of baseless remarks about the Hindu society.

This is the design of the urban Naxal mindset that Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about, Trivedi said.

Kharge had earlier called the BJP a "party of terrorists", as he hit back at Modi over his recent remarks that the opposition party was being run by a "gang of urban Naxals".

Union minister Giriraj Singh claimed that Kharge's remarks show his reflections on his own party as it was the Congress which always supported terrorists.

ALSO READ: Cong analysing Haryana assembly poll loss, booth wise report sought: Kharge

Another Union minister, Pralhad Joshi, claimed Kharge "mistakenly" called the BJP a party of terrorists as a slip of tongue.

Taking to X, Joshi said, "It was Sonia Gandhi who shed tears for terrorists who died in Batla House. It was Congress which went soft on Afzal Guru. It was Congress which repealed POTA in 2004. It was their PM Manmohan Singh who shook hands with separatist militants."

Joshi also said it was under Modi that terrorist activities saw a significant decline.

BJP spokesperson C R Kesavan said Kharge's comments have exposed Congress' "prejudiced and toxic mindset and ideology of divide and rule", similar to that of the colonial British.

"The nation should not forget how the Congress equated terrorism with the Hindu community in 2013. It was no less then a Union minister in the Congress-led UPA government, Sushil Kumar Shinde, who derogatorily and demeaningly talked about Hindu terrorism," he said.

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Mangaluru: Fr Melwin J Pinto SJ, Pro-chancellor of St Aloysius University Rector of St Aloysius Institutions, and Vice President of Mangalore Jesuit Educational Society (MJES), breathed his last on Friday, April 10. He was 63.

Born in 1963, Fr Melwin Pinto completed his schooling and college education at St Aloysius before joining the Jesuit order on June 20, 1981. He was ordained as a Jesuit priest on April 14, 1997.

Over the years, he held several academic qualifications, including an MA in English, a Master’s degree in Education, and diplomas in psychology and counselling as well as school administration.

He began his career in education as headmaster of St Joseph’s Primary School and High School in Hassan, serving between 1996 and 1999.

He later founded St Joseph’s Indian PU College and served as its principal until 2007. He subsequently served as headmaster of St Aloysius High School, Mangaluru, from 2007 to 2011, and later as principal of St Joseph’s PU College, Hassan, until 2012.

Fr Melwin Pinto also worked with Vatican Communications and Radio in Rome, contributing to its English desk for Asia and Indian languages.
He later served as superior and director of Fatima Retreat House in Valencia for two years from May 2017, before being appointed as superior of the Jesuit study home ‘Vidyaniketan’ in Dharwad.

He was also closely associated with the development of St Aloysius Institutions and played a key role in securing the status of a Deemed-to-be University. His contribution to the education sector and efforts towards innovation were widely acknowledged. He was known for maintaining close relations with people from all sections of society. 

Legislative Council MLA Ivan D’Souza, in a statement, said the demise of Fr Melwin J Pinto was a huge loss to the educational and religious fields and had created a significant void in society.

Dakshina Kannada District in-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao also expressed grief, stating that his service and contributions to education would always be remembered.

Details regarding the funeral are yet to be announced.