The BJP has sought an apology from a Congress leader’s “extremely abusive language” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an event in Bihar. The Congress was quick to distance itself from the remarks, with a case registered against the organiser, party leader Mohammad Naushad.
The Congress would be wary of the controversy blowing up, having burnt its hands earlier over remarks made by its leaders around elections, giving an opening to the BJP. A look at the controversies:
Ahead of the 2007 Gujarat Assembly polls, then Congress president Sonia Gandhi called Modi a “maut ka saudagar (merchant of death)”, blaming him for the 2002 Godhra riots. Modi, then Gujarat CM, countered that the Congress was trying to shield the perpetrators of the 2001 Parliament attack.
The remark did not help the Congress’s cause, with the BJP sweeping 117 of 183 seats in the Assembly elections. The Congress was restricted to just 59, despite analysts predicting a close contest before the polls.
“Chaiwala”
With Modi frequently speaking about how he had sold tea as a child, while leading the BJP’s 2014 Lok Sabha campaign as its prime ministerial candidate, former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar’s barb at him on the same didn’t go as planned.
After Modi repeated his claim at a rally in Patna, saying “Those who sell tea in trains know more about Railways than the minister”, Aiyar said on the sidelines of an AICC meeting in New Delhi: “I promise you that in the 21st century Modi will never become the PM… But if he wants to distribute tea here, we will find a place for him.”
“Neech”
Despite the fire that had come his way at his “chaiwala” jibe at Modi, in 2017, Aiyar referred to the BJP leader as a “neech kisma ka aadmi (an abominable man)”, responding to his charge that the Congress was trying to erase B R Ambedkar’s legacy.
“Mujhko lagta hai ki ye aadmi bahut neech kisma ka aadmi hai, ismein koi sabhyata nahin hai. Aise mauke par is kisma ki gandi rajniti karne ki kya avashyakta hai (I feel this is a very abominable man, with no decency. What’s the need for this kind of politics)?” Aiyar said.
With Modi projecting himself as an OBC leader, the BJP said Aiyar’s remarks were a reflection of his casteism. Rahul Gandhi then distanced the party from Aiyar’s words and asked him to apologise, saying such remarks did not reflect the Congress’s culture.
After he was suspended from the party over his remarks, Aiyar responded saying: “Why was the PM taking a jibe at the Congress and Rahul Gandhi at the inauguration of a centre on Babasaheb Ambedkar? Every day the Prime Minister is using foul language against our leaders. I am a freelance Congressi, I hold no post in the party, so I can reply to the PM in his language. I meant low level when I said ‘neech’.”
The Congress leader also stressed that he may have misused the word as he was not a native Hindi speaker. “I think in English when I speak in Hindi… So, if it (the word neech) has some other meaning, I apologise.”
Aiyar’s suspension was eventually revoked in December 2018.
“Chowkidar chor hai”
During the 2019 Lok Sabha campaign, Rahul Gandhi coined the slogan “chowkidar chor hai (the watchman is a thief)”, alleging corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal. The BJP countered with a mass campaign by its leaders with the tagline “Main bhi chowkidar (I too am a watchman)”.
When Gandhi claimed that even a Supreme Court order had endorsed his charge regarding the Rafale deal, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi moved the apex court, which pulled the Congress leader up and cautioned him against dragging the court into political discourse.
“Duryodhan”
During the 2019 elections, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra likened Modi to Duryodhan while addressing a gathering in Ambala.
Modi responded by describing himself as “a victim of one-sided oppression”. “One Congress leader has called me ‘Gandi naali ka keeda (a worm from a dirty drain)’, another called me ‘Gangu Teli (an apocryphal character mentioned to indicate someone’s low status)’. One called me a ‘mad dog’, another gave me the title of ‘Bhasmasur (a demon who destroyed himself)’. A former foreign minister called me a monkey, another minister called me a virus, and yet another gave me the status of Dawood Ibrahim.”
He added that such epithets came from the Congress’s “dictionary of love” whenever the party was questioned about its “misdeeds and dynastic politics”.
“Raavan”
During campaigning for the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge mocked the BJP’s reliance on Modi: “We see your (Modi’s) face in every election… Do you have 100 heads like Raavan?”
Modi slammed the Congress, saying Kharge was “compelled to follow the orders of the high command”. “I respect Khargeji but he was compelled to say Modi has 100 heads like Raavan… But the Congress does not realise that Gujarat is the land of Ram bhakts. Those who did not believe in the existence of Lord Ram have now brought in Raavan from the Ramayana just to abuse me,” he said.
The BJP went on to win a record 156 seats in the state, while Congress slipped to 17 — its worst-ever performance in the state.
“Poisonous snake”
In April 2023, weeks before the Karnataka Assembly polls, Kharge described Modi as a “poisonous snake”, saying: “If you taste it, you are dead.”
Kharge later sought to clarify that he was referring to the BJP’s ideology, not the PM personally.
But the controversy snowballed, especially after BJP leader Basangouda Patil Yatnal retaliated by calling Sonia Gandhi a “vishkanya (poison woman)” and Rahul Gandhi “mad”.