Representative image. Itcell.bla, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
The BJP has called state-level demonstrations for 26 October. The Congress disputes the party's interpretation of the remark, while the man in the audience disputes how his own words were understood. His claimed party affiliation also conflicts with Pawan Khera's account.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) plans protests at its state headquarters across India on Monday, 26 October 2026, over the Kharge baap remark at a Patna event on 25 October, according to a party statement reported by Indo Asian News Service (IANS), carried by NDTV. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge made the remark while responding to a man in the audience. The BJP calls it an insult to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s father; the Congress says it referred to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
What Kharge said in Patna
Kharge was speaking at Bapu Sabhagar in Patna on Sunday, 25 October, at a function marking the 139th birth anniversary of Shri Krishna Singh, Bihar’s first chief minister. The event was organised by Bihar Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Hindustan Times reported.
The Times of India, citing a video shared by news agency ANI, reported that a man shouted “Modi nahi jayega”, or Modi will not go. Kharge responded, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega”, as party workers escorted the man out. The BJP and Congress offered different interpretations of that reply. The man later disputed how his own words had been understood.
The same speech carried a wider attack. Kharge called the prime minister a “habitual liar” and asked where the black money promised within 100 days had gone, according to The Times of India. He also accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of enabling “vote chori”, or vote theft, demanded his removal, and described the campaign against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as a “second war of independence”, Hindustan Times reported.
How the BJP has responded to the Kharge baap remark
Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticised Kharge in a post on X, saying the remark about Modi’s father was indecent, The Indian Express reported. He accused Congress leaders of repeatedly insulting Modi and his family, citing earlier remarks about the prime minister’s mother and background. Shah also attributed the Congress’s conduct to frustration after electoral defeats.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari linked the remark to what he called the Congress’s frustration ahead of the opposition’s rally over alleged vote theft in Delhi on 1 November, in a post on X quoted by The Times of India.
In its protest announcement, the BJP said the remark targeted the dignity of the prime minister’s family. IANS reported that the party had asked its state units to organise demonstrations at their state headquarters on Monday. The report described instructions for peaceful protests and demands from senior BJP leaders for an unconditional apology from Kharge.
What the Congress says the remark meant
The Congress gives a different account. Party leader Pawan Khera told ANI that the man who shouted was a BJP worker and that Kharge’s reference to a “baap” was aimed at the RSS, the BJP’s ideological parent body, and its chief Mohan Bhagwat, The Times of India reported. Khera said the episode was part of repeated disrespect towards the Congress president and blamed Modi and Shah for it.
The man who shouted gave a different account to The Indian Express. He described himself as a Congress worker, said his sentence had been interrupted and maintained that he wanted Modi removed from power. He alleged that fellow party members assaulted him after misunderstanding his words.
His account conflicts with Khera’s description of him as a BJP worker. The two also differ on whether his interruption was a challenge to Kharge or an unfinished statement in support of removing Modi from power. The reports establish that these competing accounts were given, rather than settling the man’s political affiliation.
Kharge baap remark: each side’s account, side by side
The table separates the reported exchange, party reactions and the audience member’s account. It also distinguishes the BJP’s announced protest from the dispute about what was said.
| Who | What they said | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| Kharge | Gave the disputed reply after an audience member shouted that Modi would not go | ANI video, via The Times of India |
| Amit Shah (BJP) | Called the remark indecent and criticised Congress leaders | X post, via The Indian Express |
| BJP statement | Plans protests at all state headquarters on 26 October | IANS, via NDTV |
| Pawan Khera (Congress) | Claims the man was a BJP worker and the reply meant the RSS and Mohan Bhagwat | ANI, via The Times of India |
| Man who shouted | Says he is a Congress worker and was misunderstood; alleges assault | The Indian Express |
Protest dates and the separate Delhi rally
The BJP has called its demonstrations for 26 October. Separately, the Congress and its opposition allies plan a rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on 1 November over their allegations of vote theft, The Times of India reported. Hindustan Times reported that Kharge urged people at the Patna event to join that protest and demanded the chief election commissioner’s removal.
Kharge was urging people at the Patna event to join the Delhi rally while attacking the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. NewsPlainly previously covered the opposition’s protest march against the SIR in Delhi.
The Indian Express also reported that a BJP member submitted a complaint against Kharge at Patna’s Kotwali police station. The report did not establish whether police had registered a case.
Frequently asked questions
What did Kharge say about Modi in Patna?
He said "Modi ka baap bhi jayega" in reply to an audience member who shouted that Modi would not go, according to an ANI video reported by The Times of India. The BJP and Congress disagree about whom the reply referred to.
What does the Congress say Kharge meant?
Pawan Khera told ANI that the reference was to the RSS and its chief Mohan Bhagwat, and that the man who shouted was a BJP worker.
When is the BJP protest against Kharge?
The BJP announced demonstrations at all its state headquarters for Monday, 26 October 2026, according to a party statement reported by IANS and carried by NDTV.