New Delhi [India], October 25 (ANI): A political row erupted over Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s “Modi ka baap bhi jayega” remark, with the BJP demanding an apology. However, Congress has maintained that the statement does not constitute an insult.
A ruckus broke out during Mallikarjun Kharge’s address at the 139th birth anniversary celebration of Shri Krishna Singh in Patna, Bihar. During the address, a person present at the event said that ‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not go anywhere’. Responding to the remark, Kharge said, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega.”
The BJP leaders condemned the remarks and accused Kharge of “tearing apart the norms of decorum”. The ruling camp has also called for Kharge to be removed from Congress’ top post.
In a post on X, Union Minister Amit Shah wrote, “Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has today torn apart all norms of decorum by making an indecent remark about Modi ji’s father in Patna. This is not the first time that the Congress party has used abusive language against Modi ji or his family. At times, they have hurled insults at his revered mother, at times called him ‘merchant of death,’ and at times mocked his poverty by calling him ‘chaiwala.’ Under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, the Congress party keeps crossing the limits of indecency every day.”
He further claimed that repeated electoral defeats over the past 12 years had led to desperation and frustration within the Congress, leaving the party without any policy or issue and forcing it to rely on what he described as the politics of slander.
“In the past 12 years, the repeated electoral defeats have bred such desperation and frustration in the Congress party that it no longer has any policy left, nor any issue; only the politics of slander remains. Having lost its public base among the people, Congress is now steadily losing its base even among its own workers,” he wrote further.
“Whenever they have made hateful comments against Modi ji or his family, the public has given Congress a resounding response every time,” he added.
BJP president Nitin Nabin also criticised Kharge, saying the language used against the Prime Minister reflected what he described as the Congress party’s ideological bankruptcy.
In a post on X, Nabin wrote, “The kind of indecent and unparliamentary language used today in Patna by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge towards the country’s honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji reflects the Congress party’s ideological bankruptcy.”
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Union Minister Shivraj Chouhan said that repeated electoral defeats seem to have rattled Congress leaders into using such “undignified language.” He demanded that Congress either provide an answer or remove Mallikarjun Kharge from the party’s top post.
Chouhan said, “I am deeply distressed by the remarks made about the Prime Minister’s father. One would expect someone like Kharge ji to refrain from using such undignified language. India’s core values, traditions, culture, and ethos have always dictated that we show respect towards those who have passed away. In this country, we do not use disrespectful language even towards an enemy after they have departed.”
“But what has happened to the Congress party? They are using such language regarding the Prime Minister’s late father, language that stands in complete opposition to Indian civilisation, culture, values, traditions, decorum, and decency. It seems that repeated defeats have left them so rattled that they have forgotten what they are saying… It seems as though he has lost his mental balance. The entire Congress Party must reflect on whether such an individual is fit to hold the position of national president. Either remove him from his post, or the entire Congress must provide an answer,” the BJP leader said.
The BJP has presented it as remarks against the Prime Minister’s late father. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the public would give a befitting reply to this “insult.”
In a post, Rajnath Singh wrote, “The level of Congress politics is continuously declining. Turning ideological opposition into personal insult, dragging political disagreement to the level of abusive language, and targeting Prime Minister ji’s family reflects the Congress’s desperation and ideological vacuum. This is not just an insult to one individual or family, but an assault on the dignity of Indian politics as well. In a democracy, oppose, question policies, criticise the government, but do not violate personal dignity.”
“Today, the Congress has not only suffered political downfall, but has also gone bankrupt ideologically and morally. By insulting Prime Minister ji’s family, the Congress has hurt the sentiments of crores of countrymen. The public will surely give a befitting reply to this insult,” the minister added.
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad termed it a “hateful mindset.” He said, “They never seem to learn any lessons. Whether it is Rahul Gandhi, other Congress leaders, Kharge himself, or Sonia Gandhi, the more base and shameful remarks they have made against the Prime Minister, the more resounding the response they have received from the people of India…I condemn this in the strongest possible terms.”
In a scathing attack, Sambit Patra called Kharge a “non-functioning” leader of Congress.
Patra said, “This is highly condemnable. I believe that every single worker in the Congress Party today knows what the reality is. Rahul Gandhi is, in effect, the president. He has merely placed Kharge ji in that position, but the real president is Rahul Gandhi. As long as this non-functioning leader remains at the helm, the Congress Party has no future.”
BJP MP Anurag Thakur called it a result of “the influence of Rahul Gandhi’s company”
Calling for an apology, Thakur said, “Such an indecent remark deserves the strongest possible condemnation. For the national president of the country’s oldest political party to make such an inappropriate comment about the father of the Prime Minister is the ultimate manifestation of the Congress Party’s ideological bankruptcy. The party has become completely devoid of ideology. Apologise to the nation. An apology must be offered to Modi ji. The country has now seen the true face of the Congress Party and the state to which it has been reduced today.”
Even Chief Ministers of several BJP-ruled states criticised Kharge and Congress. Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary said, “The statement made by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge is deeply unfortunate. Using derogatory language against the father of Prime Minister Narendra Modi reflects the Congress party’s and Rahul Gandhi’s hostility towards the Prime Minister’s family. I demand that Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi immediately apologise for the offensive remarks against the Prime Minister’s father.”
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami also called out Congress for repeated remarks against PM Modi. He said that targeting someone’s parents and family can never be acceptable.
In an X post, Dhami wrote, “Congress’s politics has now deviated from issues of public interest and shrunk to personal insults and violations of decorum. The alleged indecent remark made by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge regarding the father of the esteemed Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji raises serious questions about the Congress’s political culture. Sometimes insulting Prime Minister Shri Modi ji’s revered mother, sometimes calling him a ‘merchant of death,’ and sometimes mocking his modest family background by calling him a ‘chaiwala.”
However, Congress MP Pawan Khera defended Mallikarjun Kharge, saying he was referring to the Prime Minister’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Khera termed the heckling at the event a “despicable act” against Kharge. He told ANI, “This is the second time that individuals from the Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have behaved disrespectfully toward Kharge ji. Previously, they engaged in a despicable act, a so-called purification ritual in Uttarakhand, solely because he is a Dalit. Today, in Bihar, while Kharge ji was delivering a speech, a BJP worker rudely said that Modi will not go anywhere; even if your own father were to come, he still wouldn’t leave. Such absurd and offensive language was used against a veteran, senior leader.”
“In response, Kharge ji retorted that Modi will indeed go and so will his father, referring to his ideological mentor, the Sangh, and Mohan Bhagwat. This repeated disrespect toward our national president is happening at the direct behest of Modi and Shah. The nation will not forgive this. The nation is watching,” he added.
Senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel also said that such a remark did not constitute an insult. Hitting back, Baghel recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s objectionable remarks in the past.
The former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister said, “What is so abusive about that? Someone was shouting while the speech was being delivered. Who was it? That is just a way of speaking. Not just him, ‘uska devta bhi jayega’, ‘vo kya uska baap bhi jayega’. Saying this does not constitute an insult.”
“The Prime Minister himself is consistently engaging in insults. You were the ones who started it. Sometimes you talk about a 50-crore girlfriend, sometimes you bring up Jersey cows, and at other times, you speak of snatching away a mangalsutra. These are all things that you say. No one in India’s history has ever used the kind of language that Modi ji has used. So, when he says such things, why do people in the BJP remain silent?” Baghel asked.
Meanwhile, during the event marking former Bihar Chief Minister Shri Krishna Singh’s 139th birth anniversary, Kharge also targeted RSS. He said, “As long as the ideology of the RSS persists in this country, there will be no peace.”
Invoking Shri Krishna Singh, he stated the first Bihar CM had called for putting down communal forces with a firm hand.
Quoting Shri Krishna Singh, Kharge said, “There have been periods of stress and anxiety, but the last three years have been marked by communal peace unprecedented in the recent history of Bihar. Militant communalism, bearing the well-known hallmarks of fascism, made its appearance in Bihar, as elsewhere. It is true that the most formidable manifestation was in the form of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, but whether it was Hindu communalism or Muslim communalism, both openly challenged our ideals of secular democracy and human decency. It was put down with a firm hand.”
The Congress president also recalled the Haldwani ‘purification’ incident and slammed the RSS and the BJP. (ANI)
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