Jammu: The BJP on Monday held nationwide protests over Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s controversial “baap” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding an apology from him and his party.
Kharge sparked a controversy when he said “Modi ka baap bhi jayega” in response to an audience member’s comment that “the prime minister will not go anywhere” during an event in Patna on Sunday. Kharge was speaking at a programme to celebrate the 139th birth anniversary of Bihar’s first chief minister, Shrikrishna Singh.
In Jammu, BJP workers held a protest at Dogra Chowk under the leadership of party MLA Shagun Parihar and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s Jammu and Kashmir president Arun Prabhat.
The protesters raised slogans and burnt posters of Congress leaders, including Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. They also staged a brief sit-in on the road.
Talking to reporters, Parihar said Kharge’s remarks were not merely an attack on the prime minister’s father but also an affront to elderly people who had passed away.
“If they do not respect the prime minister’s father, how will they respect the father of an ordinary citizen?” she asked, strongly condemning the Congress party.
She said Modi has dedicated himself to the nation and worked in the national interest, and hence, such remarks about his late father were highly objectionable.
Parihar also accused the Congress of undermining the dignity of democratic and constitutional institutions, including the judiciary, the Election Commission of India and the Office of the Prime Minister.
BJYM’s Jammu and Kashmir president Arun Prabhat said the Congress had crossed all limits with the remarks, and the alleged disrespect and contempt shown towards the prime minister’s family would draw a strong response from the country’s people.
The Congress is making such remarks out of frustration, and it would face public resentment over the issue, Prabhat said.
According to reports, protests and demonstrations were held in Samba, Kathua, Poonch, Udhampur, Rajouri, Doda, Kishtwar and Reasi districts over the issue.
