‘Mafia’: BJP attacks Congress after Kharge’s ‘baap’ remark targeting PM Modi

The Congress has drawn sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after party president Mallikarjun Kharge made a remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an event in Bihar, on Sunday. The BJP accused Kharge of violating political decorum and said the language used by the senior leader resembled that of a “mafia gang”.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addresses party leaders during the state-level celebration of the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar's first Chief Minister Shri Krishna Singh, at Bapu Sabhagar, in Patna. (HT)Union home minister Amit Shah criticised Kharge, saying his remark about Modi’s father crossed the limits of decency. He also accused the Congress of repeatedly using abusive language against the Prime Minister and his family.“Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has today torn apart all norms of decorum by making an indecent remark about Modi ji's father in Patna,” Shah said in a post in Hindi on X.He cited previous remarks targeting Modi, including references to his mother, the phrase “maut ka saudagar” (merchant of death) and “chaiwala” (teaseller). Shah said the Congress was crossing the limits of decency under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.What did Kharge say?Kharge made the remark while addressing an event marking the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar’s first chief minister, Shri Krishna Singh, in Patna.During his speech, Kharge criticised Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology followed by the BJP. He also described the campaign against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as the “second war of Independence”.When a voice from the audience said that Modi would not go anywhere, Kharge responded, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega” (Even Modi’s father will go).BJP accuses Congress of personal attacksShah linked the remark to the Congress’s repeated electoral defeats, alleging that the party had been left without policies or issues to raise.“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 said.The BJP also issued a statement on X accusing the Congress of using language associated with “thugs and hooligans”. It described the party’s style of functioning as that of a “mafia gang”.The statement also targeted Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, over his recent foreign trips. The BJP said he was “wandering from pillar to post—sometimes to Vietnam, sometimes to Colombia—to realise” his ambition of returning to power.SIR row between BJP and CongressThe latest exchange comes amid a dispute between the BJP and the Congress over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.The Congress has alleged that the exercise, which is intended to revise voter lists, is being used to target minorities and marginalised communities. The BJP, in turn, has accused the opposition party of trying to discredit constitutional institutions, including the Election Commission, to deflect attention from its electoral losses.