'This Is Moral Defeat Of Narendra Modi': Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, party leaders--Rahul Gandhi and Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday appeared in front of the media, after the Lok Sabha election results came which have put BJP short of the majority mark but its alliance NDA has crossed the 272 mark comfortably.

Addressing media first, Kharge said the mandate of the people is against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that the BJP falling short of the majority mark is a "moral defeat" of Modi.

"This is a moral defeat of Narendra Modi. The mandate of the people is against PM Modi. The BJP has not got full majority," he said.

On the occassion Rahul Gandhi lambasted BJP over verdict, saying the Opposition fought against the BJP which had "captured" the institutions of the country including the judiciary.

"We fought this election not just against BJP but also the institutions, the governance structure of the country, the intelligence agencies CBI and EDI, judiciary because all these institutions were captured by Amit Shah & Narendra Modi ji," he said.

"The fight was to save the Constitution. I thank the alliance partners. You have taken the first step towards saving the Constitution," he said.

To a question if the INDIA-bloc will pitch to form government at the Centre, Rahul Gandhi said there is a meeting of the Opposition alliance leaders scheduled tomorrow, following which future course of action will be decided after it.

When asked which seat he would choose after emerging victorious from both Rae Bareli and Wayanad, he thanked the people of both constituencies and said that he would have discussions with people and then take a decision on the matter.

'UP ne kamaal kar ke dikha diya': Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi lauded the Uttar Pradesh voters for the mandate and said, "Uttar Pradesh ki janata ne kamaal kar ke dikha diya (the people of UP have done wonders)".