Kharge's Retort to a Heckler in Patna Sets Off a BJP Counterattack a Week Before Congress's Delhi Rally

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge found himself at the centre of a political row on Sunday after a heated exchange with a heckler at a party event in Patna. The BJP seized on the remark within hours, calling it indecent and saying it showed frustration inside the Congress.

What Happened

Kharge was speaking at a function marking the 139th birth anniversary of Shri Krishna Singh, Bihar's first chief minister. During his speech, a man in the audience, later identified in reports as Santosh Singh, shouted that Modi would not go, meaning that the Prime Minister would not lose power.

Kharge responded by saying, in Hindi, that even Modi's father would go, and repeated the line several times. According to news agency reports, Congress workers then surrounded the man, pushed him to the ground and removed him from the hall. Video of the exchange spread quickly on social media.

The BJP's Response

The BJP's official account said language once linked with street thugs was now being used by the Congress president himself. It also aimed at Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of misbehaving with women police officers and scuffling with his own party's leaders, and said the Congress now worked more like a mafia gang than a political party.

BJP president Nitin Nabin said Kharge's words reflected the ideological bankruptcy of the Congress. He said political opposition has its own dignity, and that dragging leaders' departed family members into public speeches had become the culture of Rahul Gandhi and the wider opposition. He argued that the opposition turns to personal attacks when it has nothing to say on policy and development.

Party spokesperson Tuhin Sinha called the conduct petulant and uncouth, and said Congress attempts to stir unrest through protests had failed. Union Minister Giriraj Singh, an MP from Bihar, mocked the Congress leadership more broadly. There was no immediate public response from the Congress to the BJP's criticism.

Why the Timing Matters

The row lands at a sensitive moment for the opposition. Rahul Gandhi on Sunday called for mass turnout at a Save the Vote, Save the Country march and rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on November 1, alleging that voters' names are being struck off electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision. Congress has also announced a protest against the Chief Election Commissioner on October 30, and Kharge has asked party MPs to stay in Delhi in the run-up.

The party wants the campaign to be about the voter rolls and the Election Commission. A viral clip of its president trading personal jibes, followed by reports of a heckler being manhandled, gives the BJP an easy way to change the subject. It also feeds a familiar BJP line that the opposition relies on personal abuse rather than policy.

A Pattern in Indian Campaign Politics

Personal remarks about Modi have backfired on the Congress before, with the BJP often turning them into campaign themes. With Bihar politics heating up and Uttar Pradesh heading towards its 2027 assembly election, both parties know how quickly a single line can dominate a news cycle.

Whether this episode fades or sticks will depend partly on how the Congress responds in the coming days, and on whether the November 1 rally can bring the focus back to the voter-roll dispute.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.