A political firestorm erupted on Sunday, October 25, 2026, after Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge of making an 'indecent remark' about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late father at a rally in Patna — a charge Shah called emblematic of a party that has run out of ideas, issues, and dignity.

Kharge's Patna remark and what Shah called a pattern of insults

Shah's post, written in Hindi, did not quote Kharge's remark verbatim but described it as crossing 'every limit of decorum' (sari maryādāẽ tār-tār kar dī haiṃ). He went on to list what he characterised as a history of personal attacks on Modi — calling him a 'merchant of death' (maut ka saudagar), mocking his humble background by referring to him as a 'tea-seller' (chāywālā), and making derogatory comments about his mother. The research background confirms such rhetorical exchanges between the BJP and Congress are a recurring feature of Indian electoral politics, intensifying sharply after Congress's defeats in 2014 and 2019.

The maut ka saudagar phrase dates to the heat of Gujarat politics in the mid-2000s. The chāywālā taunt became a flashpoint during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign, when BJP turned it into a counter-narrative of pride around Modi's origins. Shah's post frames Sunday's remark as the latest episode in a long-running series — not an isolated slip.

Shah's diagnosis: 12 years of defeats, and nothing left but abuse

The core of Shah's argument is political: he attributes what he calls Congress's 'frustration and despair' directly to 'continuous electoral defeats over 12 years.' The implication is a party stripped of policy credibility and popular mandate, left with only personal attacks as a tool. Shah declared that Congress has lost both its public base and, increasingly, its own cadre — a pointed reference to defections and organisational decay that have dogged the party across multiple states.

He also aimed squarely at Rahul Gandhi, stating that under Gandhi's leadership Congress 'crosses the limits of indecency every day.' The framing is deliberate — tying the organisation's conduct to its top leader rather than treating the Patna remark as a one-off from Kharge.

The Bihar backdrop and what Congress will likely say next

The fact that the remark was made in Patna adds electoral texture. Bihar is a politically consequential state, and any comment that can be weaponised into a sympathy or outrage narrative carries amplified stakes there. The BJP has historically been effective at converting personal-attack controversies into electoral mobilisation — 2014 is the clearest precedent. Whether that playbook still moves voters in 2026 is a genuine open question; Congress spokespersons are expected to push back forcefully, likely contesting the characterisation of Kharge's words.

Shah closed with a warning-cum-prediction: 'Whenever they have made hateful comments about Modi ji or his family, the people have given Congress a fitting reply.' It is less a diplomatic note and more a campaign promise — framing the electorate itself as the final arbiter of political conduct.