Speaking to reporters in Godhra, Gujarat, on Tuesday, the former Maharashtra chief minister said Kharge’s comments were uncalled for and warranted an explanation. He nevertheless maintained that leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, had also made objectionable statements against Congress leaders.
Chavan’s intervention exposed differences within the Congress over how to respond to the controversy, which erupted following Kharge’s remarks at a public programme in Patna on Sunday. While some party leaders defended the Congress president, Chavan acknowledged that his language had crossed acceptable boundaries.
“I believe that civil language should never be abandoned, whichever the party,” Chavan said, adding that Kharge should explain his statement if it had been made inadvertently.
He also questioned the BJP’s criticism, arguing that political leaders on both sides had contributed to the deterioration of public debate. “Both sides are at fault here,” he said, referring to previous exchanges involving senior figures from the rival parties.
The controversy began when Kharge addressed a programme commemorating the 139th birth anniversary of Shrikrishna Singh, Bihar’s first chief minister. During his speech, he criticised alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and warned that those responsible could face imprisonment if the Congress assumed power.
An audience member interrupted, suggesting that Modi would remain in power unless there was a rebellion. Kharge responded with the Hindi expression “Modi ka baap bhi jayega”, a statement that prompted objections over its reference to the Prime Minister’s father.
BJP leaders condemned the language and accused the Congress president of lowering standards of political conduct. The controversy subsequently developed into a dispute over whether Kharge’s words constituted a personal insult or an emphatic political retort.
Chavan said the Congress president should have avoided the expression regardless of the circumstances surrounding the exchange. He expected Kharge, as a senior political figure, to provide his own clarification.
The former chief minister also cited statements attributed to Shah concerning Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother and the Citizenship Amendment Act. He argued that such language was equally inappropriate and should not be overlooked when assessing the conduct of political opponents.
Chavan referred to remarks by Modi about Sonia Gandhi as another example of rhetoric that, in his assessment, had undermined the standards expected of senior political leaders.
“Amit Shah should not have said what he did. Similarly, Kharge also made a mistake,” Chavan said, while emphasising that disagreement over policies and ideology should not turn political competitors into personal enemies.
His criticism contrasted with the position taken by Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, who defended Kharge’s remarks by suggesting that the reference concerned the BJP’s ideological association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh rather than Modi’s father.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also sought to play down the controversy, arguing that Kharge’s intended political meaning should be considered instead of treating the expression as a deliberate personal attack.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, however, demanded Kharge’s expulsion from the Congress, escalating the BJP’s response to the statement. His demand went beyond calls for clarification or an apology and reflected the sharp exchanges surrounding the episode.
Chavan, meanwhile, drew attention to the deterioration of relationships between politicians belonging to opposing parties. He recalled that parliamentary disagreements had previously coexisted with personal cordiality, even when debates were particularly contentious.
He cited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and senior BJP figures Sushma Swaraj and Jaswant Singh as leaders with whom Congress politicians could disagree forcefully without allowing political differences to become permanent personal hostility.
Chavan said the atmosphere had changed, with rival politicians increasingly treating one another as enemies rather than competitors representing different ideological positions.
The former Maharashtra chief minister also criticised the central government’s economic and foreign policies during his interaction with reporters. He alleged that the government’s approach was harming national interests and questioned its handling of territorial disputes with China.
Chavan supported Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the Prime Minister’s foreign policy and expressed concern about the potential consequences of government decisions for farmers and small businesses. These allegations were presented as his political assessment, rather than independently established findings.
