COUNTERATTACKS ON KHARGE’S REMARKS

COUNTERATTACKS ON KHARGE’S REMARKS

26-OCT-ENG 1

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

DELHI---------------------------Politics in Bihar has heated up following a controversial statement by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. After Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed strong objection, the BJP, along with allies JDU and Hindustani Awam Morcha, have launched a sharp attack. Union Minister and firebrand BJP leader Giriraj Singh, as well as Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, have hit back forcefully. During an event in Patna on Sunday, while referring to PM Modi’s father, Kharge made a controversial remark, stating, "Even Modi’s father will go." Kharge made this comment after an individual in the audience interrupted his speech by shouting, "Modi will not go." Visibly annoyed, Kharge retorted, "Even Modi’s father will go."

Reacting sharply to this statement, Giriraj Singh labeled the Congress party a "bunch of fools." He remarked that while it previously seemed as though only the Congress "prince," Rahul Gandhi, made such absurd and reckless statements, it now appears the entire party is following the same path. He pointed out that for the last 30–40 years, the Congress has been virtually non-existent in 8–9 states across the country, with their candidates frequently losing their security deposits.

Giriraj Singh asserted that "Modi is here and will remain here"—adding that Modi would continue to be a force for the next 30 years. He declared that the Congress is finished, and no matter how much chaos they try to incite, it will have no impact. He suggested that Kharge should stick to serving the Nehru dynasty, but warned that the people of the country would certainly punish him for such a statement.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary also expressed his objection to Kharge’s remarks, stating that the comment reveals the deep-seated malice that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party harbor toward the family of the nation’s Prime Minister. He demanded that the Congress party, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi issue an immediate apology. Meanwhile, Umesh Singh Kushwaha, the state president of Nitish Kumar’s party, the Janata Dal (United), remarked that Mallikarjun Kharge should "look within himself" (reflect on his own conduct). Separately, Dr. Santosh Kumar Suman—national president of Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), and Minister of Minor Water Resources—has expressed strong objection to the alleged remarks made by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the birth anniversary celebrations of Dr. Sri Krishna Singh.