Gandhinagar/Patna, Oct 25 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Jagdish Vishwakarma on Sunday condemned Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s father at a public event in Patna, accusing the Congress of abandoning political decorum.
The reactions followed an exchange during a programme marking the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar’s first chief minister, Shri Krishna Singh.
Kharge was addressing the gathering when a person in the audience reportedly said that PM Modi would not leave office.
Responding to the interruption, Kharge said: “Modi ka baap bhi jayega (Even Modi’s father will go)”, triggering a political controversy.
In a post on social media platform X, CM Patel described the remarks as “deeply unfortunate and highly condemnable”, saying that the use of such language against an elected Prime Minister represented politics at its lowest.
“Time and again, the Congress party has shown that when they cannot counter PM Modi on the ground with policies or development, they resort to the lowest level of personal abuse,” the Chief Minister added, describing the incident as part of what he called a “recurring pattern” of frustration rather than an isolated slip of the tongue.
He said that the Prime Minister represented the mandate and pride of 140 crore Indians and added that insulting him with arrogance amounted to an insult to the people of the country.
“In public life, we may have political differences, but the dignity of discourse must never be compromised,” CM Patel said, adding that people were watching the decline in political decorum and would respond to it.
Sanghavi also criticised Kharge, alleging that his remarks about the Prime Minister’s late father reflected the Congress’ declining political culture and what he described as a hollow mindset.
“This is not the first time that the Congress has torn apart political propriety through its language and conduct,” the Deputy Chief Minister said in Hindi in a post on X.
He also alleged that under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, the Congress’ politics is moving away from public-interest issues towards personal insults and undignified statements.
State BJP President Jagdish Vishwakarma said the language used by Kharge about the Prime Minister’s family exposed what he called the Congress’ political desperation.
“Remember, the voice of the people cannot be suppressed by abusive words or threats. The people of the country will not forgive these undignified words,” Vishwakarma added.
The controversy emerged during a wider political address in which Kharge criticised the BJP-led Union government and raised allegations concerning electoral rolls and the conduct of elections.
Kharge’s remarks formed part of the Congress’ broader criticism of the Union government and its handling of electoral issues.
The exchange has prompted criticism from BJP leaders beyond Gujarat, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who accused Kharge of crossing the limits of political decorum.
–IANS
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