CM Samrat Choudhary Demands Congress Apology Over Kharge's Patna Remark on PM Modi's Father
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
A single remark made in Patna has ignited a sharp political flashpoint. Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Sunday, October 25, 2026 publicly condemned Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge for what he described as an 'undignified comment' directed at the late father of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding a formal apology from the party to the nation.
In his post, CM Choudhary wrote: 'पटना में कांग्रेस के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष मल्लिकार्जुन खड़गे द्वारा माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेन्द्र मोदी जी के पूज्य पिताजी के प्रति की गई अमर्यादित टिप्पणी स्वीकार्य नहीं।' — translated: 'The undignified comment made by Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge in Patna about the revered father of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unacceptable.' He closed with a blunt demand: 'Congress must apologise to the country.'
Kharge in Patna and the Remark That Drew Fire
Mallikarjun Kharge has led the Indian National Congress as its National President since October 2022, making him the first non-Gandhi to hold the post in over two decades. His visit to Patna — the capital of Bihar — placed him squarely in the political backyard of the ruling NDA alliance, of which CM Choudhary's BJP is the dominant partner in the state. The specific content of the remark attributed to Kharge could not be independently verified, but CM Choudhary's post treats it as a matter of personal and political affront serious enough to demand a national-level apology.
A Familiar Pattern, a Very Personal Target
Remarks touching on PM Modi's family background — particularly his late father — carry a charged history in Indian political discourse. The BJP has consistently treated any such reference as an attack on the Prime Minister's dignity and, by extension, an insult to his supporters. For CM Choudhary, a senior BJP leader and the head of government in Bihar, the response was swift and unequivocal: frame the incident as a failure of political decorum that demands public contrition from the Opposition.
Indian politics has seen repeated cycles of personal remarks, counter-remarks, and formal apology demands between the BJP and Congress — a pattern that tends to dominate the news cycle, pull in regional leaders, and test party spokespersons on both sides. This episode slots directly into that template, with a state chief minister amplifying the charge rather than leaving it to party functionaries.
Congress Yet to Respond
As of the time of posting, no formal clarification or rebuttal had emerged from the Congress party regarding the alleged remarks in Patna. Whether the party issues a response — and in what tone — will determine how far this exchange travels up the national news agenda. A non-response risks being read as tacit acceptance; a counter-attack risks extending a cycle that currently runs in the BJP's favour.
The political arithmetic is straightforward: Bihar is a state where every BJP leader has a direct stake in defending the Prime Minister's image, and where Congress is attempting to rebuild ground. CM Choudhary's post is both a rebuke and a signal — that in Bihar, at least, such remarks will not pass without a response on the record.