BHUBANESWAR: The state unit of the BJP on Monday staged a protest in Bhubaneswar against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his controversial remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding a public apology from him.
BJP leaders and workers took out a protest march from the party’s state headquarters to Master Canteen Square where they burnt effigies of Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The BJP accused Kharge of crossing the limits of political decency by making objectionable remarks about the prime minister’s father. It alleged that the comments reflected the Congress leadership’s frustration and were part of a pattern of personal attacks against Modi and his family.
The party demanded that Kharge apologise publicly for his remarks and asserted that political differences should not lead to the use of indecent language against the PM or his family.
State BJP president and Rajya Sabha member Manmohan Samal said the Congress was frustrated and disappointed over being out of power after ruling the country for several decades.
“The political journeys of BJP stalwarts, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Arun Jaitley, Pramod Mahajan and Sushma Swaraj, offered lessons for leaders across the political spectrum. These leaders never crossed the limits of language and dignity in politics,” he said.
The protest was attended by BJP state secretary Saroj Kumar Kar, former minister Arabinda Dhali, former MLA Priyadarshi Mishra, senior leaders Jagannath Pradhan, Sudipta Ray, Manoj Mohapatra and Bhubaneswar district president Niranjan Mishra.