A political storm broke out on Monday after allegedly derogatory slogans targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi were raised at a Congress rally in Jaipur, prompting sharp reactions from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and demands for an apology from the party’s top leadership.
The slogans were raised during a ‘Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod’ rally held on Sunday to press the Opposition’s allegations of “vote theft” against the BJP. A group led by Manju Lata Meena, the Jaipur district president of the Congress women’s wing, was heard chanting a slogan referring to the Prime Minister’s “grave”, triggering widespread condemnation.
Defending her remarks when questioned by reporters, Meena said she was merely articulating public anger over alleged electoral malpractice. “I was expressing the anger of the people over vote theft,” she said, adding that the Prime Minister failed to address core issues. “He does not talk about employment, youth, women or farmers. He diverts attention from real problems.”
The BJP, however, described the slogan as unacceptable and offensive. Union minister and BJP president JP Nadda demanded an apology from senior Congress leaders, including Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge.
“The slogan raised against the Prime Minister at a Congress rally is proof of the party’s true thinking and mentality,” Nadda said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. “Wishing for the death of the country’s Prime Minister is extremely reprehensible.” “For this indecent language, the Leader of the Opposition and Sonia Gandhi, who is present in the House, should apologise to the nation,” he added.
Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju also sought an apology from Kharge, who is Congress president, and from Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, who addressed a similar ‘Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod’ rally in Delhi on Sunday. “They should tender an apology on the floor of both Houses of Parliament,” Rijiju told a press conference. “It is most unfortunate and tragic that Congress workers openly spoke of digging the grave of Prime Minister Modi.”
Emphasising the difference between political rivalry and hostility, Rijiju said, “We are political opponents, not enemies. We oppose each other ideologically. We never think of killing one another or speak in such terms. What kind of mentality is this, where people openly threaten political rivals?”
The Congress rejected the BJP’s charge, with party MP Manickam Tagore claiming the rally had unsettled the ruling party. “The rally has rattled them. They could not sleep last night,” he told NDTV when asked about Nadda’s demand for an apology.
Meanwhile, some of Congress’s allies distanced themselves from the controversial slogan. Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai said political disagreements should not cross certain limits. “We may have political differences, but we must exercise restraint when speaking about those holding constitutional positions,” he said. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Jayant Patil also criticised the slogan. “It was not right to raise such slogans. Whatever the differences, he is the Prime Minister,” Patil said.
