Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Saturday incident where a woman climbed a light tower to speak to the top BJP leader. Calling the visual “very disturbing”, Kharge claimed that the woman climbed up the tower to attract his attention to the “real issues facing the nation”.

In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), Kharge alleged “rank betrayal” by the Modi government as he highlighted the issues of high unemployment rate, inflation, and economic inequality. He also said that crime against women, SCs and STs, and backward classes have “sadly increased by leaps and bounds.”

Kharge contended that the youth of the nation aspired for jobs but were met with a 45-year-high unemployment rate under the Modi government. He accused the government of perpetuating economic inequality, stating that the richest 5% of Indians own over 60% of the country’s wealth, leaving the middle class and poor to suffer.

Kharge claimed that instead of fostering unity and harmony, the Modi government has sown seeds of hate and divisiveness among the diverse population of the country.

“While the Prime Minister was speaking in Telangana, in a very disturbing visual, a girl climbed up an electricity pole in order to attract attention to the REAL issues facing the nation,” the Congress president wrote on X. “Young India is fed up with Modi Govt’s rank betrayal.”

PM Modi was addressing a gathering in Secunderabad when a woman climbed a light tower to speak to him. In a video shared widely shared on social media, the prime minister was heard repeatedly urging the woman to get down from the tower as it was dangerous.

“Please don’t climb up the tower. The wire is not proper and may lead to a short circuit. It is not the right thing to do. Please get down from the tower. I am here to listen to you”, PM Modi told the woman.