Chennai, April 22 -- Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "terrorising" political parties by misusing government machinery and central agencies to stifle the Opposition, triggering strong reactions from the BJP, which attacked the opposition leader for calling Modi a "terrorist". Addressing a press conference in Chennai alongside AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, Kharge initially referred to the Prime Minister as a "terrorist" while criticising the AIADMK's alliance with the BJP. Questioning how the AIADMK -- a party rooted in the Dravidian ideologies of Periyar and C N Annadurai -- could justify partnering with Prime Minister Modi, Kharge said: "How these AIADMK people, who themselves put the photo of Annadurai... how can they join with Modi? He is a terrorist...He doesn't believe in equality. His party won't believe in equality and justice. And these people are joining them, which means that they are weakening democracy." However, when asked by reporters to clarify the context of the remark, Kharge said what he meant was that the Prime Minister was "terrorising" the democratic fabric of the country. The Congress president's remarks drew strong condemnation from senior BJP leaders, who dubbed the remarks "crass" and "a personal insult" to Modi. BJP leader Piyush Goyal also demanded an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. PTI...