NEW DELHI, October 26 (Aalimi Nation) – The Bharatiya Janata Party held protests in several cities on Monday and demanded an apology from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over a remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a row that drew a sharp response from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and a rebuttal from the Congress.
What Kharge said in Patna
The controversy stems from an event in Patna on Sunday, held to mark the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar's first chief minister, Shrikrishna Singh. According to accounts of the event, Kharge told the gathering that the Congress would send those involved in alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls to jail. A member of the audience interrupted, saying Modi was not going anywhere. Kharge replied from the dais, "Modi ka baap bhi jayega, baap bhi jayega," which translates roughly as "even Modi's father will have to go."
BJP protests and demands
On Monday, BJP workers in Delhi tried to march towards Kharge's residence on Rajaji Marg from Sena Bhawan Circle but were stopped by police. They raised slogans and demanded an apology from Kharge and from Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The party had called for protests across the country, and demonstrations were reported at its state headquarters in cities including Mumbai, Patna, Ranchi and Kolkata.
Rajnath Singh called the remark "extremely unfortunate". He said the comment had come from the national president of the Congress, the country's oldest political party, and not from an ordinary worker, and that it had hurt the sentiments of crores of people. Singh said a person in such a senior post should show restraint, urged political leaders not to cross the boundaries of personal decorum, and added that such remarks could neither shake the Prime Minister nor weaken his resolve to serve the people. He also accused the Congress of defending Kharge's words instead of expressing regret, and said the episode reflected an ideological decline for the party rather than only a political one. The BJP's Karnataka unit separately said the remark showed a decline in the Congress's political culture.
Congress position
Congress leaders have rejected the criticism. Priyank Kharge, a Karnataka minister and the Congress president's son, dismissed the BJP's charges. The party's central leadership had not issued a detailed statement at the time of writing, and Kharge himself had not offered an apology or clarification in the reports available.
The remark was made while Kharge was speaking about the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, a process on which the Congress has alleged irregularities. The row has since drawn police complaints and street protests, and the two parties have traded sharp words over the tone of public debate.
