Amid the raging row over its chief Mallikarjun Kharge's "baap" remarks, the Congress on Sunday 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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "ideological father", the RSS.
The opposition party alleged that this was the second time in the last few months that Kharge had been "insulted" and said the "despicable act of purification" was carried out in Uttarakhand in August after he had given a speech at a rally.
The Congress' remarks came after the BJP launched an all-out attack on Kharge for his "Modi ka baap bhi jayega" remarks at an event in Patna.
"Modi ka baap bhi jayega, baap bhi jayega (Let alone Modi, even his father would go)," Kharge retorted from the dais, after a member of the audience interrupted the Congress chief's speech and shouted that as long as there is no rebellion, Modi won't go anywhere.
Hitting out at Kharge for his disparaging "personal" remarks against Prime Minister Modi, the BJP said the Congress chief is using language "associated with thugs and hooligans", reflecting the "ideological bankruptcy" of his party that appears more like a "mafia gang".
Reacting to the BJP's attack, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "The BJP hatches new conspiracies everyday. A few days ago after Kharge ji's speech, a despicable thing such as purification was carried out. Today in Bihar, when Kharge ji was giving a speech, a BJP worker insulted Kharge ji's father by saying that 'agar aapke baap bhi aa jayenge toh Modi nahi jayega'."
"After that Kharge ji referred to Modi ji's ideological father, the RSS, stating not only Modi ji will go but the RSS will also go. After such a disgusting act (insulting Kharge), they are now in turn accusing Kharge ji," he said, slamming the BJP.
"He (Kharge) is a very senior leader in the country...this is the second time they (BJP) have insulted him," Khera told PTI Videos.
The BJP lashed out at Kharge for "indecent" remarks targeting the BJP.
The ruling party's strong reaction followed Kharge's outburst during a function on the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar's first chief minister, Shrikrishna Singh, in Patna
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 Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge towards the country's honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji reflects the Congress party's ideological bankruptcy," he said on X.
Union 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.
Shah said the Congress is now steadily losing its base even among its own workers. "Whenever they have made hateful comments against Modi ji or his family, the public has given the Congress a resounding response every time," the former BJP chief said in a Hindi post on X.
(With inputs from PTI)
