A line has been crossed, says Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh — and the Indian public will not let it pass. On Monday, 26 October 2026, the senior Janata Dal (United) leader and Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying fired a pointed salvo at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, demanding a public apology for remarks he said shattered political decorum.

In the post, Singh wrote: 'कांग्रेस पार्टी मर्यादा तोड़ने का रिकॉर्ड कायम कर रही है' — 'The Congress Party is setting a record for breaking all limits of decency.' He was unambiguous: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of the entire nation, not a partisan target. 'If Kharge ji has even a shred of morality left,' Singh wrote, 'he should apologise to the people of India.'

The charge: Congress 'record-breaking' disrespect

Singh's post did not specify the exact remark that triggered his response — but the language he deployed was categorical. The phrase 'मर्यादा तोड़ना' ('breaking the limits of propriety') is a loaded political charge in Indian public life, evoking a cultural standard of dignity that transcends factional loyalty. By invoking it, Singh framed the issue not as a BJP-Congress clash but as a question of civic morality.

He also appealed directly to public sentiment, describing India's people as 'very sensitive' and asserting they would refuse to accept this kind of language. That framing — positioning the ordinary citizen as the ultimate arbiter — is a deliberate political move, designed to widen the blast radius of the criticism beyond Parliament.

Kharge as the focal point of NDA pushback

Mallikarjun Kharge, the veteran Karnataka politician who became Congress president in October 2022, has increasingly been the NDA's primary target when responding to opposition attacks on the Prime Minister. As both party chief and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Kharge holds a unique dual authority that makes him simultaneously the most powerful and most accountable opposition voice.

The ruling coalition has consistently argued that the Office of the Prime Minister stands above partisan warfare — that criticism of policy is fair game, but personal or derogatory language against the head of government crosses a constitutional and moral line. Singh's post is a textbook deployment of that argument.

Where this fits in the NDA-Congress sparring pattern

This exchange follows a well-worn groove in Indian politics. Sharp verbal clashes between the NDA and Congress over language directed at PM Modi have punctuated multiple parliamentary sessions. What shifts each time is the intensity of the demand for accountability — and Singh's call for a formal public apology, rather than mere condemnation, raises the stakes a notch.

Whether Congress responds — and how — will set the temperature heading into the next parliamentary session. In Indian political theatre, the demand for an apology is rarely accepted. But it forces the other side to either defend the original remark or distance themselves from it. Either move carries political cost.

The ball is now in Kharge's court. And the public, Singh insists, is watching.