NEW DELHI: Defending Mallikarjun Kharge over his “baap” (father) remark targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy, from the party’s Mamata Banerjee faction, cited the Congress president’s advanced age while playing down the controversy.Speaking to ANI, Roy described the remark as a “spontaneous response” to an interruption from an audience member during a public event.Roy claimed that someone in the audience had remarked that even Kharge’s father would not be able to remove Modi. He added that in response, Kharge retorted that even Modi’s father would have to go.“Kharge-ji is a senior leader, aged 83-84. He can say such things,” Roy said, dismissing the controversy surrounding the Congress president’s remark.Roy defended Kharge as the ruling BJP held nationwide protests against the veteran leader over his controversial remark.The controversy began on Sunday when Kharge addressed an event in Patna marking the 139th birth anniversary of Dr Krishna Singh, Bihar’s first chief minister.During his speech, an attendee interrupted him, shouting, “Modi nahi jayega” (PM Modi will not be defeated). Kharge responded from the podium, saying, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega” (Even Modi’s father will be defeated).Defending Kharge, Congress MP Pawan Khera alleged that the person who interrupted the Congress president during his speech was a BJP worker. Khera also accused the BJP of repeatedly targeting Kharge over his Dalit identity, referring to the alleged “purification” incident in Haldwani, Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey criticised the Congress leadership, accusing it of abandoning political decorum. Drawing a parallel with the aftermath of the 1971 Bangladesh War, Dubey recalled how opposition leaders, including future BJP stalwarts Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani, had defended the Congress government led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi against criticism from US officials, emphasising the importance of national dignity.“The condition of the entire Congress party has deteriorated,” Dubey told reporters, referring to the response of opposition leaders to remarks made by Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon about Indira Gandhi following the Bangladesh War.Dubey also criticised the Congress over its repeated electoral defeats, stating that the party’s leadership had yet to recover from its political setbacks.