The confrontation occurred on Sunday during an event commemorating the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar’s first chief minister, Shri Krishna Singh. Kharge was addressing the audience when a man interrupted with words suggesting that Modi would not leave power.
“Modi ka baap bhi jayega,” Kharge responded, a Hindi expression meaning “Even Modi’s father will have to go.” He repeated the remark as disorder broke out inside the venue, drawing immediate condemnation from leaders of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused Kharge of crossing the limits of decency and said the Congress had repeatedly targeted Modi and his family. Shah argued that the opposition party’s electoral setbacks had led its leaders to substitute personal attacks for substantive political arguments.
BJP president Nitin Nabin also condemned the language, describing it as indecent and unparliamentary. He said voters were watching the Congress leadership’s conduct and would respond to it politically. Other BJP representatives accused Kharge of insulting the prime minister’s late father and undermining standards of public debate.
The controversy acquired another dimension when the audience member, identified as Santosh Kumar, said his words had been misunderstood. Speaking outside the venue, he maintained that he had not intended to defend Modi’s continuation in power or disrupt Kharge’s speech.
“I was saying that unless there is a revolt, Modi will not go. But only a part of it was heard and was misunderstood,” Kumar said. His explanation suggested that the exchange began with a sentence Kharge had interpreted differently from its intended meaning.
Kumar said he wanted Modi to leave power but believed political change would require stronger public resistance. His account challenged the initial portrayal of him as a supporter of the prime minister heckling the Congress leader, although the full exchange remained difficult to establish from the words audible in the hall.
People attending the function confronted Kumar after the interruption. Footage showed a disturbance as several men surrounded him, and accounts of the incident said he was assaulted before being removed from the auditorium. The circumstances of the confrontation and responsibility for the alleged assault were not independently established.
The BJP’s decision to organise demonstrations extended the dispute beyond the Patna meeting. The party said protests would take place across the country on Monday, turning a confrontation at a state-level commemorative function into a national political issue. Its response also drew attention to the distinction between criticism of an elected leader and remarks involving family members who hold no public office.
The Congress defended its president amid the escalating exchange of accusations.
The disagreement over the interrupted sentence became central to the competing interpretations of the episode.
Kharge’s speech had otherwise concentrated on electoral accountability and the opposition’s objections to the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. He alleged that the exercise could be used to exclude opposition supporters from voter lists and accused the BJP-led government of weakening democratic safeguards.
The Congress president warned that protecting voting rights required sustained public mobilisation. He described opposition to alleged electoral manipulation as a second struggle for independence and called for resistance to actions he said threatened the Constitution.
Those allegations remain disputed. The electoral roll revision is administered by the Election Commission, and accusations that it is being deliberately used to disadvantage opposition voters have not been established merely by Kharge’s statements.
Kharge also criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, challenging its ideology and accusing it of contributing to communal divisions. He questioned Modi’s past promises concerning black money and argued that the government had failed to deliver on key commitments.
The Congress gathering took place amid a broader dispute between the two parties over the conduct of elections and the functioning of democratic institutions. Those policy arguments were largely overshadowed on Sunday by the reaction to Kharge’s choice of words.
The commemorative programme was held at Bapu Sabhagar in Patna to honour Shri Krishna Singh, who served as Bihar’s first chief minister after independence. The interruption occurred during Kharge’s address to those assembled for the anniversary observance.
