Nitin Nabin takes ‘bankrupt mindset’ jibe at Kharge as row over PM remarks rages; effigy burnt in Patna

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: A scuffle broke out between BJP workers and police in Shimla on Monday when party workers attempted to burn an effigy of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge in protest against his remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The protest was led by BJP state general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Sikander Kumar at CTO Chowk near the DC office.

Party workers raised slogans against Kharge and demanded a public apology from him for making objectionable remarks against the prime minister's deceased parents.

Tensions escalated when the protesters tried to set the effigy on fire. Police personnel intervened to prevent them from doing so, leading to a brief scuffle between the two sides.

via PTI

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Monday made remarks amid raging row over Kharge's remarks on PM Modi.

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Coming out in defence of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge amid an escalating political row over his remarks concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) national working President and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav on Monday accused the ruling NDA of "making a mountain out of a molehill" to distract from its governance failures.

Speaking to reporters in Patna, Tejasvi asserted that the ruling dispensation is deliberately hyping non-issues because it has failed to deliver on core developmental promises such as employment, healthcare, and education for the people of Bihar.

"A mountain is being made out of a molehill. Those in government are paying no attention to education, healthcare, livelihoods, irrigation, addressing grievances, or taking concrete action; they are doing nothing for the people of Bihar. Crime and corruption are on the rise, yet no action is being taken. Ever since this government was formed, nothing of substance has been accomplished," Tejashwi said.

via ANI

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Mahua Moitra backed Mallikarjun Kharge, saying the fight would continue until the end. Responding to Kharge, the Trinamool Congress MP wrote in Hindi, “Why only the father… the grandfather of the father will also go,” adding, “Well said, Kharge ji. We assure you that we will fight this till the end.”

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge on Monday defended his father and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his controversial remarks about PM Modi, saying he was responding to a BJP supporter who provoked him during an event in Patna. Priyank accused the BJP of hypocrisy, citing its past remarks about the Gandhi family.

"I would urge them to have a look at what they have done previously... The entire ecosystem, you know how they misbehaved when it was Mrs Gandhi's birthday on social media... They called Rahul Gandhi a hybrid calf and Pappu. This is their culture. Conveniently, the BJP is forgetting how this entire episode happened," Priyank Kharge told ANI.

Clarifying the sequence of events that prompted the controversial retort, he stated, "When Kharge ji was making a speech, a BJP supporter said you cannot do anything about PM Modi. You can't do it, nor can your father. So he retorted in a language which they understand."

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Delhi BJP on Monday held a protest near the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his alleged disparaging remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The protesters were stopped by police when they tried to march from Sena Bhawan circle towards Kharge's residence on Rajaji Marg.

Around 2,000 BJP workers and leaders, including state president Harsh Malhotra, were detained as protesters attempted to break barricades and march forward, Delhi BJP said in a statement.

Amid heavy police deployment in Sena Bhawan area, the detainees were packed into buses and shifted to Mandir Marg police station, from where they were later released, the statement added.

via PTI

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Traders on Monday held a protest at Kashmere Gate here demanding that the Congress defer the November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan until after Diwali, with Chamber of Trade and Industry chairman Brijesh Goyal saying that they will write to all parties in the INDIA bloc on the issue.

The traders also wrote to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, urging him to reschedule the rally, as they fear that security arrangements, road closures and traffic diversions could disrupt business in the national capital's major markets during the festive season.

However, in a post on X, Gandhi on Monday said the protests will "stop in 30 seconds" if the traders tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the "vote chori" issue.

via PTI

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Launching a fierce attack on the Congress leadership over party chief Mallikarjun Kharge's controversial remarks, allegedly targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his family, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Nitin Nabin on Monday asserted that the opposition party is operating from an entirely "bankrupt mindset" where using undignified language has become a political legacy.

Condemning Kharge's rhetoric, the BJP national president alleged that targeting the Prime Minister's family has become a habitual trait of successive Congress presidents to mask their own political decline.

"He is a senior, elderly individual and the national president of the Congress party; yet, the use of such language, these undignified and insulting remarks, has effectively become the legacy of the Congress. Congress presidents have consistently targeted the Prime Minister and his family, seeking to humiliate him. The Congress party is operating entirely from a bankrupt mindset, a mentality that is clearly evident within the party today," Nabin told reporters.

via ANI

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: The BJP's Jammu unit staged a protest at Dogra Chowk , alleging "indecent and offensive" remarks by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late father.

In response to a comment at a Patna event on Sunday, Kharge reportedly said, "Modi ka baap bhi jayega (Modi's father will also go)", triggering a sharp reaction from senior BJP leaders, who accused the Congress of resorting to personal attacks against the prime minister and his family.

Led by BJP MLA and national vice-president of the party's youth wing, Shagun Parihar, and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha's (BJYM) Jammu and Kashmir president Arun Prabhat, hundreds of party workers and leaders took out a rally through Dogra Chowk in Jammu.

The protesters raised slogans and burnt posters of Congress leaders, including Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. They also staged a brief sit-in on the road.

Talking to reporters, Parihar said Kharge's remarks were not merely an attack on the prime minister's father but also an affront to elderly people who had passed away.

"If they do not respect the prime minister's father, how will they respect the father of an ordinary citizen?" she asked, strongly condemning the Congress party.

via PTI

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Amid the raging row over Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's ‘baap’ remark against PM Modi, party MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday said there was no need to make a "big song and dance" about it as the veteran leader was just using a common expression and not insulting anybody's father.

Tharoor said, "I think people in our country have a habit of exaggerating the whole drama and all of this. Kharge sahab said something, the meaning is very clear of what Kharge sahab intended, and I don't think we should need to make a big song and dance about it."

"He obviously was just using a common expression. He was not insulting anybody's father," Tharoor told reporters on the sidelines of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum here.

via PTI

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra on Monday said party workers and protesters had gathered outside Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence to demand an apology for his remarks concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his father.

“They want to ask him why he used such abusive language regarding the Prime Minister of the country and his father. The desperation of Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress party, and Rahul Gandhi is reaching its peak,” he added, reported news agency ANI.

Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra and several other party leaders were detained by police while staging a protest against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his remarks concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on Monday declined to comment on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Deve Gowda said, "I am not going to react today. Whatever happened, I do not want to share anything."

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: BJP supporters took to the streets in Lucknow to protest against Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge over his comments concerning PM Modi.

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: BJP MP K Laxman criticised Kharge over his remarks involving the PM’s father, accusing the Congress leadership of frustration over its inability to return to power.

K Laxman told ANI, “Whether it is Rahul Gandhi or anyone else in politics, the language being used is not appropriate. If you want to oppose the BJP or our work through politics, you can make statements and criticise us. But despite being such a senior leader, Kharge ji has made such a remark invoking the Prime Minister’s father... They are restless because they are unable to come to power…"

“Modi ji has won people’s hearts through development and welfare schemes for the poor... That is why they are restless, but the people will certainly teach them a lesson again at the appropriate time,” he added.

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Police detained several BJP leaders, including Karnataka Assembly Leader of Opposition R Ashoka and Ashwath Narayan, during a protest in Bengaluru against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his remarks concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Anti-SIR protest LIVE updates: Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday appealed to Delhi's traders amid concerns over traffic restrictions and disruptions to businesses during ongoing political protests. Sharing a poster for the November 1 protest at Ramlila Maidan, Gandhi blamed the central government for metro closures, road barricading and restrictions across the capital.

“To every trader in Delhi: We love you and hear you. The Govt shut the metro, sealed our roads and locked down our capital,” Gandhi wrote on X.

Reiterating his demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's removal, Gandhi claimed that the protests would stop within 30 seconds if Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed him from office.

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Congress MP Pawan Khera defended party president Mallikarjun Kharge's remarks, claiming that a BJP supporter had interrupted him.

He said, “Kharge was interrupted in an obnoxious manner by a BJP supporter who said something about Mr. Kharge's father.”

Khera said the Congress president was referring to the RSS as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "ideological parent" and not his biological father.

"When he referred to PM Modi's father, he meant the ideological parent of Mr. Modi—the parent organisation of Modi, which is the RSS," Khera said.

He further said, "Of course, the RSS will meet the same fate as the BJP and PM Modi. Let's face the elections, we will teach them a lesson..."

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: BJP leaders and workers staged a protest in Bengaluru, Karnataka, against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his alleged objectionable remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's father.

Mallikarjun Kharge remarks row LIVE: Delhi BJP workers staged a protest at Rajaji Marg against remarks made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Protesters were seen carrying posters bearing the slogan "Modi ji ka apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan" (India will not tolerate an insult to Modi).

Kharge remarks row LIVE: Samajwadi Party MP Neeraj Maurya on Monday said he did not support Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's controversial remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but also accused the PM of making offensive statements.

"I do not support such remarks from anyone, whoever they may be. PM Modi always makes offensive remarks," Maurya said.

Kharge remarks row LIVE: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday accused the Modi government of using "every possible tactic to protect Gyanesh Kumar", hours after the BJP called nationwide protests over his controversial remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kharge alleged that the Election Commission had refused to disclose information about software used in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise under the RTI Act, citing "Trade Secrets". He also flagged alleged irregularities in Uttar Pradesh, claiming that details of 16.18 lakh Form-6 applications had not been made public and discrepancies involving 10,470 voters had been detected in Pilibhit.

Reiterating the INDIA bloc's demands, Kharge called for CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, repeal of the 2023 law protecting him, an immediate halt to SIR, restoration of allegedly deleted voters' names and a return to paper ballots.

"This is not just a fight to save votes—it's a people's struggle to save the Constitution and democracy," he said, urging citizens to join the 'Save Votes–Save the Nation' march and rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on November 1.

Kharge remarks row live updates: RJD MP Manoj Jha on Monday criticised Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying such conduct was not expected from a senior leader.

"Kharge ji is an experienced person, and such conduct is not expected from him. There are no two opinions about this," Jha said, while questioning what he described as "selective" outrage over political remarks, reported news agency ANI.

Jha also called for a two-day special session of Parliament to discuss the language used by political leaders, expressing concern over the rise of hostile rhetoric in recent years.

"In this country, in 12-14 years, what has changed that the language of enmity has emerged? Why has this happened?" he asked.

Kharge remarks row live updates: BJP MP K Laxman on Monday condemned Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's father, demanding an apology from the Congress chief.

"You can question the government as the Opposition, but the Prime Minister represents the entire country," Laxman said, accusing the Congress of making personal attacks out of frustration over repeated electoral defeats, reported news agency PTI.

He also targeted Rahul Gandhi's leadership, claiming that the Congress saw no path to power under him. "You must apologise. Such politics has no place in a democracy. As a senior leader, he must apologise," Laxman added.