Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, said on Tuesday that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge deliberately withheld information about the terrible deaths of his mother and sister in a Razakar assault out of fear of losing Muslim support.

At a political rally in Amravati, Maharashtra, Adityanath launched a forceful reaction a few days after Kharge criticized the retired seer-turned-politician for his saffron clothing and “Batenge to Katenge” slogan. He said that the veteran of Congress had repressed these traumatic experiences for political reasons. Adityanath said that in order to get votes, Congress disregarded past crimes.

Despite his personal tragedy, Kharge has easily forgotten the history of the Razakars under the Nizam of Hyderabad, according to Adityanath. Adityanath said that “Mallikarjun Kharge’s mother, aunt, and sister perished in the attacks, and Razakars also destroyed his village, Varawatti.”

He said that Kharge was hiding this information out of concern that if he discussed the horrors carried out by the Nizam’s army, he would lose the support of Muslims. The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said, “Kharge has conveniently forgotten what happened to his family, just for vote-bank politics, and Congress is trying to reject history.” The major goals of the Razakars, a paramilitary group that existed in the former princely state of Hyderabad, were to uphold the authority of the Muslim Nizams of Hyderabad and stop Hyderabad from becoming a part of India.