By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Prime Minister is entitled to criticise the Leader of the Opposition forcefully, but the dignity of the office calls for a distinction between robust political criticism and personal ridicule. Nevertheless, PM Narendra Modi ridiculed his rival LoP Rahul Gandhi on 22 October 2026 at a World Summit organised by NDTV, where audience were primarily interested in India’s global standing and were not attending an ordinary Indian election rally. Clearly, PM Modi lapsed in statesmanship, when he resorted to personal ridicule towards his rival as “failed product”, alleging “dreaming of disorder”, calling his chief rival political party Congress “parasite” dominated by “Dimagi Naxals” trying to defame and destroy India, and many other things.
It was surprising that at a World Summit, PM Modi spoke as a leader of the ruling BJP while criticising his rival leader and political party and seemed to have forgotten that he is elected head of India’s government and was speaking before an audience who were interested in the issues that the world is facing today.
PM’s language matters for the reputation of a country especially at a World Summit. Calling a political opponent a “failed product” there may be an effective political jibe targeted against his political rival, but it reduces a debate about leadership, policy and democratic accountability to ridicule.
Modi argued that Congress was damaging India’s reputation abroad before global audience. Nevertheless, he himself was tarnishing his rival’s image before a global audience, only because his rival Rahul Gandhi has been making ruthless criticism against his government that are greatly embarrassing for him, such as vote theft to win elections. But in a democracy, criticism of a government is not automatically criticism of the country. The national interest should not be confused with the government’s political interest.
Moreover, the office of the Prime Minister carries a special responsibility, because a prime minister has a larger public platform and greater institutional authority that ordinary ruling party’s spokesperson. It creates a reasonable expectation that he will answer political opponents, not at a word summit but before a national gathering, with arguments proportionate to the importance of the issues at stake.
There is also a distinction between criticising dynastic politics—which is a legitimate subject of democratic debate—and suggesting that a person is inherently worthless as a political leader. The former invites discussion of institutions and merit; the latter tends towards personal derision, that PM Modi resorted to.
PM Modi was seen politically combative rather than statesmanlike. The LoP Rahul Gandhi has also been combative especially since 2024 alleging that PM Modi is hand in glove with CEC Gyanesh Kumar and winning elections by vote theft. Since October 2, Rahul Gandhi has intensified his opposition to the government and is demanding removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and scrapping of SIR that deleted over 13 crore voters from the electoral roll. Entire Opposition, civil societies, lawyers, students, and important personalities including academicians, jurists and common people have been participating in anti-CEC anti-SIR protests while PM Modi and his party BJP has been trying to defend CEC and SIR.
It is in this backdrop, PM Modi has ridiculed Rahul Gandhi and Congress, portraying them as enemy of India, before a world summit that was devoted to the changing world order. PM’s ridicule does not demonstrate India’s political maturity, and hence he made himself ridiculous.
Ultimately, the stature of a Prime Minister is not measured by how effectively he ridicules his opponent, but by how convincingly he answers that opponent’s arguments while remaining conscious of the dignity of his office.
PM’s rhetoric against his rival within the country at a world summit is a serious concern on another account too – it can set a precedent. When the country’s highest political office normalises personal mockery, it risks encouraging other political leaders to substitute insults for arguments. That weakens the quality of democratic discourse, regardless of which party benefits.PM Modi did not demonstrate restrained in his language and manner of criticising his political opponent.
PM Modi and LoP Rahul Gandhi has been criticising each other for quite some time, which represents one of the most prominent rivalries in contemporary Indian politics.
In his criticism PM Modi has generally been defending his government’s record and challenging the Congress’s credibility, presenting the BJP as the party of national development, stability and Hindu cultural identity. He and his party has also been ridiculing Rahul Gandhi, but avoiding answering the questions Rahul Gandhi has been raising.
It is worth recalling that Rahul Gandhi, in his criticism, has generally been coming out with issues greatly embarrassing to PM Modi and the BJP. He generally scrutinises government performance, questions the distribution of economic benefits, and highlights BJP’s communal agenda, constitutional safeguards, social inequality and institutional accountability. He challenges as leader of the opposition the government’s records and demands accountability.
Rahul Gandhi questions Modi’s governance, concentration of power, economic inequality and BJP’s political approach. He questions violation of the Constitutional provisions by Modi government and says every constitutional body has been compromised including the Election Commission of India. Wealth is going into few hands and people are suffering with rising inequality and large scale unemployment. He raises the issues relating to farmers and labour force. He often connects his criticism to constitutional pluralism, minority rights and the distinction between the government and the nation.
Modi on the other hand avoids answering the questions Rahul Gandhi raises. He criticises Rahul Gandhi and raises questions on dynastic politics and leadership credibility and often ridicules him. He criticises Nehru-Gandhi political family and the Congress as destroying the nation. PM Modi must answer every question raised by the LoP Rahul Gandhi. Merely ridiculing him is ridiculous. (IPA Service)
