PTIPatna, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday sparked a controversy with his remarks "Modi ka baap bhi jayega", in response to an audience member's comment that "the PM would not go anywhere", during an event in Bihar's Patna.
The incident took place while Kharge was speaking at the programme to celebrate the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar's first chief minister, Shrikrishna Singh.
Responding to Kharge's statement that the Congress will send those involved in carrying out alleged irregularities in the SIR process to jail, a person from the audience shouted, "As long as there is no rebellion, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi won't go anywhere."
The Congress president shot back, saying, "Modi ka baap bhi jayega" (Let alone Modi, even his father would go).
Later, talking to reporters, the audience member identified himself as Santhosh Kumar, a Congress worker from Chhapra. He claimed that people mistook him for a BJP worker when he spoke during the event.
"What I meant was that as long as there is no rebellion in the country, Narendra Modi won't go anywhere," he said.
Kharge's comments drew sharp reactions and condemnation from senior leaders of the BJP, the JD(U), the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), who said the Congress chief was using language "associated with thugs and hooligans".
The BJP also said it will hold protests against Kharge's remarks across the country on Monday.
BJP chief Nitin Nabin said the people of the country are watching this "indecent politics very closely and will give it a befitting reply in due time".
"The kind of indecent and unparliamentary language used today in Patna by Kharge towards the country's honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji reflects the Congress party's ideological bankruptcy," he said on X.
Nabin said political opposition, too, should have some dignity. "But dragging the departed family members into speeches from public platforms has now become the real 'culture' of Rahul Gandhi and the entire opposition," he said.
"The language that was once associated with thugs and hooligans is now being used by the Congress President himself... Their entire style of functioning has turned into that of a mafia. This isn't a political party anymore - it seems more like a mafia gang," the BJP said on its X handle.
Home Minister Amit Shah said that 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. 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," he alleged.
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary condemned Kharge's remarks and sought an apology from the Congress.
"The statement given by Kharge against Narendra Modi's father is extremely unfortunate. It shows that the Congress holds ill will towards the family of the PM," Choudhary said in a video message on X.
Describing Kharge's act as a "crime," the CM said the Congress chief and party leader Rahul Gandhi should apologise for the "derogatory" language used against the PM's father.
The Congress, however, claimed that a BJP worker first insulted Kharge's late father while he was speaking in Patna, which prompted the veteran leader to refer to Modi's "ideological father, the RSS".
Union minister J P Nadda also condemned Kharge's remarks and said the Congress, frustrated by its repeated electoral defeats, is venting its "political resentment" by making disparaging comments against Modi and his family.
Nadda said the opposition's "panic", stemming from Modi's rising popularity at home and abroad, and the people's unwavering trust in him, is now plainly evident in its language and conduct.
"The Congress must realise that the trust of the people cannot be won through a politics of hatred and humiliation," Nadda said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said this is not just an insult to one individual or family, "but an assault on the dignity of Indian politics as well".
BJP MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed Kharge, alleging that he made such comments against the prime minister at the behest of Rahul Gandhi.
Party MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said Kharge's remarks against PM Modi were "shameful, undignified and petty", and demanded that both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi apologise.
In a video statement, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said his party condemns Kharge's remarks in the strongest possible terms.
Rejecting Kharge's allegations on the SIR of electoral rolls and the Bihar elections, Prasad said the state polls were conducted with complete "honesty, impartiality and transparency".
"People have reduced the party to just six seats, and pushed it into a position from which it will never be able to recover," Prasad said.
In a post on X, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan said: "In a democracy, ideological differences are natural, but it is essential to maintain the decorum of language in public life and respect the dignity of the position."
Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is also the chief of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), an NDA ally in Bihar, said it is the responsibility of every political party to maintain decorum while referring to the country's Prime Minister.
Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi added: "What an inspiring masterclass in opposition leadership. When you have no developmental vision to present, no governance track record to defend, and zero ground beneath your feet, simply default to personal abuse... When an opposition has nothing left to offer 21st-century India, personal vitriol evidently becomes its only manifesto."
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The incident took place while Kharge was speaking at the programme to celebrate the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar's first chief minister, Shrikrishna Singh.
Responding to Kharge's statement that the Congress will send those involved in carrying out alleged irregularities in the SIR process to jail, a person from the audience shouted, "As long as there is no rebellion, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi won't go anywhere."
The Congress president shot back, saying, "Modi ka baap bhi jayega" (Let alone Modi, even his father would go).
Later, talking to reporters, the audience member identified himself as Santhosh Kumar, a Congress worker from Chhapra. He claimed that people mistook him for a BJP worker when he spoke during the event.
"What I meant was that as long as there is no rebellion in the country, Narendra Modi won't go anywhere," he said.
Kharge's comments drew sharp reactions and condemnation from senior leaders of the BJP, the JD(U), the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), who said the Congress chief was using language "associated with thugs and hooligans".
The BJP also said it will hold protests against Kharge's remarks across the country on Monday.
BJP chief Nitin Nabin said the people of the country are watching this "indecent politics very closely and will give it a befitting reply in due time".
"The kind of indecent and unparliamentary language used today in Patna by Kharge towards the country's honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji reflects the Congress party's ideological bankruptcy," he said on X.
Nabin said political opposition, too, should have some dignity. "But dragging the departed family members into speeches from public platforms has now become the real 'culture' of Rahul Gandhi and the entire opposition," he said.
"The language that was once associated with thugs and hooligans is now being used by the Congress President himself... Their entire style of functioning has turned into that of a mafia. This isn't a political party anymore - it seems more like a mafia gang," the BJP said on its X handle.
Home Minister Amit Shah said that 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. 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," he alleged.
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary condemned Kharge's remarks and sought an apology from the Congress.
"The statement given by Kharge against Narendra Modi's father is extremely unfortunate. It shows that the Congress holds ill will towards the family of the PM," Choudhary said in a video message on X.
Describing Kharge's act as a "crime," the CM said the Congress chief and party leader Rahul Gandhi should apologise for the "derogatory" language used against the PM's father.
The Congress, however, claimed that a BJP worker first insulted Kharge's late father while he was speaking in Patna, which prompted the veteran leader to refer to Modi's "ideological father, the RSS".
Union minister J P Nadda also condemned Kharge's remarks and said the Congress, frustrated by its repeated electoral defeats, is venting its "political resentment" by making disparaging comments against Modi and his family.
Nadda said the opposition's "panic", stemming from Modi's rising popularity at home and abroad, and the people's unwavering trust in him, is now plainly evident in its language and conduct.
"The Congress must realise that the trust of the people cannot be won through a politics of hatred and humiliation," Nadda said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said this is not just an insult to one individual or family, "but an assault on the dignity of Indian politics as well".
BJP MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed Kharge, alleging that he made such comments against the prime minister at the behest of Rahul Gandhi.
Party MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said Kharge's remarks against PM Modi were "shameful, undignified and petty", and demanded that both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi apologise.
In a video statement, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said his party condemns Kharge's remarks in the strongest possible terms.
Rejecting Kharge's allegations on the SIR of electoral rolls and the Bihar elections, Prasad said the state polls were conducted with complete "honesty, impartiality and transparency".
"People have reduced the party to just six seats, and pushed it into a position from which it will never be able to recover," Prasad said.
In a post on X, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan said: "In a democracy, ideological differences are natural, but it is essential to maintain the decorum of language in public life and respect the dignity of the position."
Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is also the chief of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), an NDA ally in Bihar, said it is the responsibility of every political party to maintain decorum while referring to the country's Prime Minister.
Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi added: "What an inspiring masterclass in opposition leadership. When you have no developmental vision to present, no governance track record to defend, and zero ground beneath your feet, simply default to personal abuse... When an opposition has nothing left to offer 21st-century India, personal vitriol evidently becomes its only manifesto."
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