- Kharge's remark followed a misunderstood heckle in Patna.
- BJP, Amit Shah condemned comments; Congress defended Kharge.
- Incident occurred at Bihar's first CM's birth anniversary.
As the controversy surrounding Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi intensifies, the party defended Kharge, stating his comments were in response to heckling during an event in Patna, Bihar, on Sunday. Conversely, the BJP criticised Kharge for making inappropriate remarks about the prime minister's late father. Meanwhile, the individual whose interjection triggered the exchange claimed his statements were incomplete and misunderstood.
The incident occurred when Kharge was speaking at an event to mark the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar's first chief minister, Krishna Singh, widely known as 'Sri Babu', and lost his cool after a person interrupted his speech. A person present at the event said that PM Modi would not go anywhere; Kharge responded, saying, "Modi ka baap bhi jayega." Party workers then overcame the person and took him away from the hall.
What did the man say?
The man in the orange shirt, who said the four words, said his sentence wasn't heard in full, and that he meant the exact opposite. “I was actually saying, 'Unless the public revolts, Modi will not go," said the not-a-heckler Santosh Kumar, after he'd received a beating and been thrown out of the venue.
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That "unless" bit was lost in the din, twice over -- first inside a Congress hall and then in the BJP's criticism.
Amit Shah Lashes Out
Responding to the incident, Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress of repeatedly using abusive language against the Prime Minister and his family. On X, Shah said Kharge had “broken 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'," he alleged. The leader also attacked Rahul Gandhi, saying, “The Congress party keeps crossing the limits of indecency every day,” Shah said.
How did Pawan Khera react to the entire incident?
Reacting to the incident, Congress MP Pawan Khera criticised the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of disrespecting party president Mallikarjun Kharge, referring to the Patna incident and the purification ritual held after a Congress rally in Uttarakhand's Haldwani back in August.
Khera asserted that a BJP worker interrupted Kharge during his speech in Bihar, prompting the Congress chief’s “Modi ka baap bhi jayega” retort. He alleged that the repeated incidents were happening at the behest of Modi and Amit Shah, adding that “the nation was watching”.
“BJP hatches new conspiracies every day; BJP workers insulted Kharge; such tactics are deliberately orchestrated by the top BJP leadership,” Khera later told PTI.
‘Mafia Party, Bankrupt Thinking’
The BJP labelled the remarks a reflection of the Congress party’s “bankrupt thinking”. On X, the BJP said the language used by the head of the country’s principal opposition party was shameful and alleged that Congress leaders had repeatedly made objectionable remarks about the prime minister's family, including his late mother.