The BJP on Monday staged protests in several parts of the country against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his alleged disparaging remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s late father at an event in Patna on Sunday, demanding an apology from him and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
The protests followed Kharge’s remarks at a function marking the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar’s first chief minister, Shrikrishna Singh, in Patna on Sunday. Speaking about alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Kharge said the Congress would send those involved to jail.
When an audience member interrupted him, saying, “Modi won’t go anywhere,” Kharge retorted, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega, baap bhi jayega” (Even Modi’s father will go).
The remarks drew sharp criticism from the BJP, which accused Kharge of insulting the Prime Minister’s late father and announced nationwide protests on Monday.
In Delhi, BJP leaders and workers staged a protest near Kharge’s residence on Rajaji Marg. Police stopped them when they attempted to march from Sena Bhawan Circle towards his residence. The protesters raised slogans against the Congress president and demanded an apology.
In Patna, BJP leaders and supporters took out a ‘Jan Akrosh March’ from the party headquarters to Income Tax Golambar, covering around 300 metres, and burnt an effigy of Kharge. The march was led by Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi.
“Yesterday, all limits were crossed when the platform to celebrate the birth anniversary of Shrikrishna Singh, the architect of modern Bihar, was used to make abusive remarks about the Prime Minister’s late father,” Saraogi said.
He alleged that the Congress was directing its frustration over declining electoral support towards Modi and demanded an apology from Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also criticised Kharge, saying the remarks had hurt the sentiments of crores of people. He expressed shock that the statement had come from the president of a party that describes itself as the country’s oldest political organisation, and accused the Congress of defending the comments instead of expressing regret.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said it was unfortunate that the Congress had dragged Modi’s late parents into politics for narrow political interests. State BJP president Hemant Khandelwal termed Kharge’s remarks a violation of political decorum and questioned whether he had made them independently or at the behest of the Gandhi family.
A BJP worker in Patna also filed a police complaint against Kharge over the remarks. An officer at the Kotwali police station said the complaint, submitted on Sunday evening, was being transferred to the Gandhi Maidan police station because the incident occurred within its jurisdiction. The complainant, Krishna Kumar Singh, demanded that Kharge apologise within 24 hours.
Uttarakhand BJP staged protests across all districts of the state and burnt effigies of Kharge.
BJP protesters in Bengaluru also demonstrated against Kharge on Monday, following which police detained them.
BJP workers also protested in Lucknow and Jammu against Kharge’s remarks. In Jammu, protesters burnt posters of the Congress president and raised slogans against him.
Amid the raging row, 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.
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.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
