Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Harsh Malhotra on 11 October publicly condemned Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge over a remark directed at the BJP government, demanding that Kharge either apologise to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or brace for a sharp public backlash. The remarks have sharpened an already bitter exchange between the two parties ahead of upcoming political mobilisations.

The Remark That Triggered the Row

Malhotra quoted Kharge as having said, “They are scared, and a person who is afraid dies sooner or later.” The Delhi BJP chief characterised the statement as “intemperate language” and argued that BJP leaders had, by contrast, consistently exercised restraint out of respect for Kharge’s age. Malhotra said the Congress president’s pattern of such remarks was becoming a recurring feature of political discourse.

BJP Counters with Historical Allegations

Malhotra mounted a pointed counter-offensive, asking Kharge to explain what he considered Congress governments’ own record of handling dissent. “If preparing to handle a protest is a sign of fear, then what was the opening of fire on protesters during the cow slaughter protest in 1966? What was the imposition of the Emergency in the country? What was the opening of fire on farmers protesting at Rajpath in 1988? And what was the installation of barbed-wire barricades, the use of tear gas, and cane charges in 1990 and again in 1993 to prevent kar sevaks from proceeding towards Rajpath following the Vishva Hindu Parishad’s call?” he asked.

Malhotra argued that if security arrangements ahead of Saturday’s protest constituted fear, Congress governments must have been “frightened on countless occasions” given their recourse to firing on demonstrators.

BJP Targets CJP Protest and Kejriwal

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor separately took aim at what he described as low turnout and leadership absence at a Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) protest held on Saturday. Kapoor alleged that CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke had announced the protest two weeks in advance but did not himself take to the streets, instead boarding a flight from Mumbai only after arrests had begun in Delhi.

“Instead, he misled 500 to 700 young people and compelled them to court arrest,” Kapoor said, characterising Dipke’s subsequent detention as a “five-star arrest” staged after arriving by air. He argued that genuine protesters would have quietly come to Delhi and courted arrest alongside their workers.

Kejriwal Accused of No-Show

Kapoor also trained his fire on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal, alleging that Kejriwal had publicly committed to reaching Jantar Mantar with his family on Saturday morning but neither he nor any family member nor any party worker appeared at the venue in the morning. Kapoor said Kejriwal eventually left home in the evening rather than the morning and did not reach Jantar Mantar at all.

“Kejriwal, who once swore on his children that he would never support the Congress but later joined hands with the party, did not bring his own family to the protest but instead misled ordinary young people and sent them to face the police,” Kapoor said. The BJP framed the episode as fresh evidence of what it called Kejriwal’s political inconsistency.

What Comes Next

The BJP’s dual offensive — targeting both Kharge’s language and the opposition’s protest credibility — signals an intensifying pre-poll political climate in Delhi. Congress and AAP are yet to formally respond to the specific allegations. Whether Kharge issues any clarification or the opposition mounts a rebuttal is likely to determine the next phase of this war of words.