A sharp demand for a public apology landed in Indian politics on Sunday, 25 October 2026, when Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh — widely known as Lalan Singh — called out Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for what the minister described as an 'undignified remark' about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late father. The statement drew an immediate line: some things, Singh argued, are simply off-limits in public life.

In his post, Singh wrote: 'कांग्रेस के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष मल्लिकार्जुन खरगे द्वारा आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के दिवंगत पिता के प्रति की गई अमर्यादित टिप्पणी अत्यंत दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है।' — 'The indecent remark made by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge about the late father of the respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is deeply unfortunate.' Singh went further, insisting that 'observing dignity, grace, and mutual respect in public life is non-negotiable,' and demanded that the Congress party take 'immediate cognisance' of the comment, act appropriately, and 'seek forgiveness from the people of the country.'

Why JD(U) Stepped In

Rajiv Ranjan Singh is a senior leader of the Janata Dal (United), a key partner in the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre. Coalition partners aligning publicly with the BJP on matters of political conduct is a familiar pattern in Indian governance — but the specific invocation of the Prime Minister's deceased parent gives this episode a sharper emotional edge. Singh's intervention signals JD(U)'s solidarity with the NDA leadership and its willingness to police the boundaries of political discourse.

Kharge at the Centre of the Row

Mallikarjun Kharge, who became Congress president in October 2022 — the party's first non-Gandhi chief in over two decades — has been a combative voice against the Modi government. As the principal opposition's top figure, his words carry institutional weight. A remark touching the Prime Minister's family, specifically a parent no longer alive, crosses a threshold that even fierce political rivals typically respect. The precise wording of Kharge's original comment has not been formally clarified by the Congress party as of this report.

The Apology Demand and What Follows

Singh's demand is unambiguous: a party-level acknowledgement and a public apology to the nation. Whether Congress responds — with a clarification, a counter-argument, or silence — will determine how long this row stays in the news cycle. Other NDA allies are expected to be watching; any formal rebuttal from the opposition could escalate the exchange into a full parliamentary flashpoint. In Indian political life, controversies over decorum rarely stay contained.