Kanker/Dhamtari/Manendragarh: The Bharatiya Janata Party and its youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), held protests in several parts of Chhattisgarh on Monday against a controversial statement made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s father at an event in Patna. The remark has drawn widespread condemnation, with BJP workers organising demonstrations in Kanker, Dhamtari and Manendragarh (MCB).
In Kanker, BJP leaders and workers burnt an effigy and staged a protest, strongly condemning the alleged comment. Party leaders said that Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of the country and the use of undignified language against him does not align with democratic traditions. While ideological differences between political parties are natural, they stressed that political opposition must remain within the bounds of civil language. The protesters demanded that the Congress leadership respond to the alleged remark.
In Dhamtari, BJYM workers gathered at Gandhi Maidan, burnt an effigy of Kharge and raised slogans against the Congress. Party leaders and workers condemned the statement and demanded that Kharge publicly apologise to the people of the country and to Prime Minister Modi. They maintained that while political opposition is legitimate, comments targeting an individual’s late father are inappropriate by any standard. BJYM district president Shubhank Mishra said the office of the Prime Minister carries its own dignity and that making insulting remarks about the family of the person holding that office violates political decorum. He warned that the youth wing would continue its protest until an apology is offered. Another leader, Rajesh Sharma, alleged that Congress leaders harbour hatred towards Prime Minister Modi and Hindu and Sanatan traditions—a political charge made by the BJP functionary. He added that such statements lower the level of political discourse and send a wrong message to the public.
Similar protests were held in Manendragarh, the headquarters of MCB district. BJP and BJYM workers demonstrated at Bhagat Singh Chowk, burnt an effigy and raised slogans against the Congress leadership. The protesters objected to the alleged indecent remarks against the Prime Minister and insisted that dignified language should be used in public life when referring to the country’s top executive.
The demonstrations reflected the BJP’s organised response in Chhattisgarh to the controversy surrounding Kharge’s statement.
