Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his campaign pitch that the Congress will win fewer than 40 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, PTI reported.

“Wherever he goes, Modi keeps saying that Congress will not win 40 seats,” Kharge said while addressing a rally at Kalaburagi in Karnataka. “Do you believe that? If Congress gets more than 40 seats, will Modi hang himself at Delhi’s Vijay Chowk?” he added, according to ANI.

The Congress had won 44 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The prime minister has often referred in his campaign speeches to the Congress’s poor performance in 2014 and declared the party will get fewer seats this time.

Kharge claimed Modi was not born when India got its independence and that Modi claimed he was from a backward community but helped only the rich. “He keeps speaking against Congress and claims the party did not do anything,” Kharge said.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Shobha Karandlaje demanded an apology from Kharge and said she never expected “such low” remarks from a senior leader. “Blatant lies, fake allegations, derogatory remarks have become common with hollow Congress, nothing progressive!” she said.

BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya too criticised Kharge’s comments. “Why is Mallikarjun Kharge so upset with PM Modi for suggesting that Congress may not win even 40 seats, someone asked?” Malviya said on Twitter. “Because Congress plans to hail Rahul Gandhi as a political genius if the Congress manages anything more than 44 and a number of 40 simply ruins that plan...”