BJP Holds Protests Across Country, Seeks M Kharge's Apology Over "Baap" Jibe

The BJP today held protests in the party's headquarters in all states and demanded that Congress chief Mallikarjung Kharge should resign for making "indecent and offensive" remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The row began and escalated thereafter on Sunday when Kharge at an event in Patna said "Modi ka baap bhi jayega" while replying to an audience member's comment that "the PM would not go anywhere."

While many BJP leaders slammed Kharge over the comments, the Congress questioned them over no outrage in the past when Sonia Gandhi and Kharge himself were subjected to derogatory words.

In Bihar, a large number of BJP leaders and workers took out a march shouting slogans against Kharge and demanding his resignation. They set on fire an effigy of the Congress chief. In Jammu too, BJP workers burned posters of Kharge and shouted slogans. The BJP is holding a massive protest in Bengaluru's Freedom Park, demanding an apology from Kharge.

Condemning Kharge, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was shocked and deeply hurt by the comments on PM Modi's late father.

"It's deeply distressing... What is most shocking about this entire episode is that these comments were not made by some ordinary Congress worker or a youth leader, but by the national president of a party that claims to be the oldest political party in the country," Singh said today.

"The Congress did not stop there; they are hurting people's sentiments by attempting to justify Kharge ji's words. Instead of acknowledging their mistake and expressing regret, the Congress is busy defending and validating this statement," the defence minister said.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi took a swipe at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi while also at the same time attacking Kharge in the same sentence. He said the BJP had known about Rahul Gandhi's immaturity, but now it seems others in the party have also got infected due to keeping bad company.

"... Everyone in their party has become immature, frustrated and disappointed. Stooping to such a low level, they are ruining the culture of India. Bringing up the names of late parents of any leader or any person who is no longer in public life shows the frustration and effect of the company of Rahul Gandhi," Joshi said, adding that long before what Kharge did, Sonia Gandhi used the same kind of language.

The Congress chief's son and Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge hit back, saying the BJP likes to make issues out of non-issues. "These cultured people have forgotten what Modi and Shah have said in the past. We don't need to learn culture from them," he said.

The Opposition bloc INDIA's ally and RJD MP Manoj Jha, while agreeing such conduct was not expected from Kharge - "no two opinions about this" - he said the outrage should not be selective. "I haven't seen such outrage, neither in the media nor in other parties when BJP leaders commented on Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge in the past," Jha said.

The BJP's coordinated response demanding an apology from Kharge is being organised in all major hubs including Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, Ranchi and Kolkata.