The BJP organised protests at its state headquarters across the country on Monday, seeking an apology and resignation from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his reported remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s late father.
The controversy began on Sunday at an event in Patna, where Kharge responded to an audience member who said that the Prime Minister would not go anywhere. Kharge was heard saying, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega.” BJP leaders condemned the statement as indecent and offensive.
In Bihar, BJP leaders and workers took out a march, raised slogans against Kharge and set fire to an effigy of the Congress president. Similar demonstrations were held in Jammu, where party workers burned posters of Kharge. A major protest was also organised at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, with BJP workers demanding an apology.
The coordinated demonstrations included major centres such as Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, Ranchi and Kolkata. The BJP has also called for Kharge to step down as Congress president over the remarks.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was shocked and deeply hurt by the reference to Prime Minister Modi’s late father. He criticised the fact that the remark came from the national president of a party that presents itself as the country’s oldest political organisation.
Singh also accused the Congress of defending Kharge’s words instead of acknowledging the mistake and expressing regret. He said attempts to justify the statement were hurting public sentiment.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi attacked both Kharge and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, saying the BJP had long viewed Gandhi as immature and that the same influence appeared to have affected others in the party. Joshi said the Congress had stooped to a low level and was damaging India’s political culture by referring to the deceased parents of a leader or another person no longer in public life.
Joshi further alleged that Sonia Gandhi had used similar language against BJP leaders in the past.
Priyank Kharge, the Congress president’s son and a Karnataka minister, rejected the BJP’s criticism. He said the BJP had a tendency to turn non-issues into controversies and argued that its leaders had themselves made controversial remarks about Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “We don’t need to learn culture from them,” he said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, whose party is part of the INDIA bloc, said such conduct was not expected from Mallikarjun Kharge and that there could be no disagreement on that point. However, he argued that the BJP’s outrage should not be selective.
Jha said he had not seen similar reactions from the media or political parties when BJP leaders had made remarks about Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge in the past.
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