The man who allegedly yelled “Modi won't go anywhere” during Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's address at an event in Bihar has clarified that what he meant was that “as long as there was no rebellion in the country, Narendra Modi won’t go anywhere.”
Kharge's reaction to the man's remark was, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega” (Even Modi’s father will go).
Speaking at an event to mark the 139th birth anniversary of Shrikrishna Singh, Bihar’s first chief minister, Kharge said the Congress would send those allegedly involved in irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process to jail.
Deep Dive
What did the man who heckled Mallikarjun Kharge mean by “Modi won’t go anywhere”?
Who shouted “Modi won’t go anywhere” during Kharge’s speech in Bihar?
Why did the BJP demand an apology from Mallikarjun Kharge over his remark?
A person in the audience responded by shouting, “Modi won’t go anywhere," drawing the retort from Kharge.
Kharge's comment sparked a controversy, with BJP leaders accusing him of making “indecent” remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s father.
{{/usCountry}}Kharge's comment sparked a controversy, with BJP leaders accusing him of making “indecent” remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s father.
{{/usCountry}}“Kharge ji’s statement is shameful, sorrowful and utterly condemnable. But what more can one expect from a mafia gang?” the BJP said, demanding that Kharge apologise to the people of the country.
Man clarifies remark
Speaking to reporters later, the man who made the remark identified himself as Santhosh Kumar, a Congress worker from Chhapra. He claimed that people had mistaken him for a BJP worker because of his intervention during the event.
“What I meant was that as long as there is no rebellion in the country, Narendra Modi won’t go anywhere,” he said, news agency PTI reported.
BJP demands apology from Kharge
What followed Kharge’s remark was criticism and a call for apology from BJP leaders. A BJP worker also filed a police complaint against him over his remarks targeting PM Modi.
BJP MP Anurag Thakur said that Kharge must offer an unreserved apology to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the nation for his "indecent" remarks.
Speaking to news agency ANI, he said that such statements are testaments to the “ultimate manifestation of the Congress Party’s ideological bankruptcy.”
"The influence of Rahul Gandhi’s company is evident in the statements made by Mallikarjun Kharge. Such an indecent remark deserves the strongest possible condemnation. For the national president of the country’s oldest political party to make such an inappropriate comment about the father of the Prime Minister is the ultimate manifestation of the Congress Party’s ideological bankruptcy. The party has become completely devoid of ideology,” he said.
“Apologise to the nation. An apology must be offered to Modi ji. The country has now seen the true face of the Congress Party and the state to which it has been reduced today," he added.
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 said in a post on X.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh also expressed hurt over Congress president’s remark. In a post on X, Singh said he was “stunned and hurt” by Kharge’s remark made in Patna, Bihar, regarding the Prime Minister’s father.
“I am stunned and hurt by the remark made by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge ji in Patna regarding the revered father of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Until yesterday, Congress leaders and workers used to mock Prime Minister ji's humble family background and employ indecent language towards his esteemed mother. Today, this same level of base politics has reached the top leadership of the Congress. When a party's top leadership itself forgets the dignity of language, how can one expect decorum from its workers?” Singh said.