Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has apparently decided that taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi politically is not enough, he has to make it personal. At an event in Patna on October 25, Kharge delivered a controversial comment, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega.”
The remark from Kharge came after an audience member challenged his assertion that the Congress would send those allegedly involved in electoral irregularities to jail, insisting that PM Modi was not going anywhere.
Notably, Narendra Modi’s father, Damodardas Modi, passed away in 1989. Invoking a deceased parent in a political exchange can be considered the lowest of the lows, but for the Congress party, it is just another Tuesday.
Bhai Kharge, the issue is not whether Modi will eventually leave office. Every elected leader’s tenure is governed by constitutional processes, elections and the democratic mandate. The real question is whether the opposition can persuade voters to choose an alternative. No amount of verbal bravado can substitute for that task.
The Congress chief has been campaigning against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise threatens voting rights and could facilitate the deletion of legitimate voters. Notably, the EVMs worked fine in Karnataka and Telangana, where Congress came to power. Ok.
These are serious issues that deserve scrutiny, evidence and reasoned debate. If the Congress believes electoral manipulation has occurred, it should present verifiable evidence and pursue the appropriate legal and constitutional remedies.
Instead, the exchange has shifted attention from the substance of the allegations to a personal insult. The BJP has announced protests and demanded an apology, while Congress has defended the context of Kharge’s response. Yeah, Congress is trying to give context to Kharge’s remark. We live in a surreal world.
For an opposition that wants to convince voters it is ready to govern, the challenge is straightforward, build a credible alternative, articulate policies and win public confidence. But they are fully focused on discrediting India’s Election Commission.
PM Modi will leave office when the constitutional and electoral process determines that he should. His father, who died decades ago, has no role in that decision.
This language of a street ruffian doesn’t befit a Congress President.
