India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged protests across the country on Monday, October 26, 2026, against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over a remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the party called "indecent and offensive." The protests, held in cities including Delhi, Patna, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Jammu, demanded an apology from Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
What Kharge said in Patna
The row began on Sunday, October 25, at an event in Patna marking the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar's first chief minister, Shri Krishna Singh. Kharge was speaking about alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying the Congress would send those involved to jail, when an audience member interrupted, saying Modi would not go anywhere.
Kharge retorted, "Modi ka baap bhi jayega, baap bhi jayega" (Even Modi's father will have to go). The exchange was captured on video and circulated widely on social media. Organisers and Congress workers then removed the man from the hall; some reports alleged he was assaulted, though the exact circumstances were not immediately clear.
The BJP's response
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Kharge had "torn apart all norms of decorum by making an indecent remark about Modi ji's father" in Patna. In Delhi, BJP leaders and workers demonstrated near Kharge's residence on Rajaji Marg, and police stopped them when they attempted to march from Sena Bhawan Circle towards his residence. In Patna, state BJP president Sanjay Saraogi led a 'Jan Akrosh March' from the party headquarters, and protesters burnt an effigy of Kharge.
Saraogi said: "Yesterday, all limits were crossed when the platform to celebrate the birth anniversary of Shrikrishna Singh, the architect of modern Bihar, was used to make abusive remarks about the Prime Minister's late father." In Bengaluru, BJP Karnataka president B. Y. Vijayendra demanded a public apology and said Kharge's remarks showed frustration at Modi becoming prime minister for a third consecutive term. The BJP also demanded Kharge's resignation in some protests.
The Congress defence
The Congress defended its president on Monday. Congress leader Pawan Khera said Kharge's remark referred to the RSS, the prime minister's ideological mentor, and was not a personal insult. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said there was no need to make a "big song and dance" about the remark, describing it as a common expression rather than an insult to anyone's father.
Congress leaders also circulated videos of past remarks by Modi and Shah targeting opposition leaders. Karnataka home minister Priyank Kharge shared a video of Modi's remark referring to a Congress "widow" receiving money, and another in which Modi referred to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Kharge himself renewed his attack on Modi, accusing him of protecting Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and reiterated his demand for Kumar's resignation over the SIR exercise.
Why it matters
The controversy lands amid a heated fight over the SIR of electoral rolls, which Kharge has called a "second war for independence," demanding its immediate halt and ballot papers in future elections. With Bihar politics in the backdrop and both sides trading charges of abusive language, the episode shows how quickly a single heckled exchange can become a national political flashpoint. Whether the protests end with an apology or harden into a longer standoff now depends on whether either party sees advantage in de-escalating.
Watch: News18 video: Kharge's remark sparks nationwide BJP protests as Congress faces backlash
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Hitman (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: The New Indian Express, Business Today, Deccan Chronicle