Patna: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s remark, “Even Modi’s father will go”, has triggered a political controversy, with Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and BJP leaders demanding an apology.
Kharge made the comment on Sunday at an event in Patna marking the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar’s first chief minister, Sri Krishna Sinha. While addressing the gathering, he said the Congress would send to jail those allegedly involved in irregularities during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
When a person in the audience remarked that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not leave office until a revolt took place, Kharge responded, “Even Modi’s father will go.”
Choudhary condemned the statement, calling the reference to the prime minister’s father highly unfortunate. He said the remark reflected poorly on the Congress’s attitude towards Modi’s family and demanded an apology from both Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Bihar BJP president Sanjay Sarawagi also criticised Kharge, saying such language amounted to disrespecting the people’s mandate. He accused the Congress of undermining political decorum through personal attacks and urged leaders to maintain dignity despite political differences.
Janata Dal (United) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad also condemned the remarks. Rejecting the Congress’s allegations concerning the Bihar elections and the revision of electoral rolls, he maintained that the elections had been conducted with integrity, fairness and transparency. He further claimed that voters had reduced the Congress to just six seats.
