Kalagi (Kalaburagi district): Unimpressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "sympathy" for senior Congressman, M. Mallikarjun Kharge for missing out on the Chief Minister's post in Karnataka, Congress president, Rahul Gandhi on Friday called his remarks "an eyewash" aimed at winning over Dalits.

"Modiji doesn't allow Khargeji to speak in the Lok Sabha and under Modi rule, Dalit student, Rohit Vemula ended his life. The atrocities on Dalits are increasing in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and the other BJP-ruled states and yet Modiji doesn't utter a word. The same man garlands the Ambedkar statue to show that he is pro-Dalit," he observed caustically, addressing a public meeting here as part of his campaign in Karnataka for the coming assembly poll.