‘Such disgraceful conduct can’t be normalised’: BJP to ECI on Kharge’s ‘terrorist’ remark
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's "terrorist" remark row has escalated. A BJP delegation has approached the Election Commission, calling the remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a "disgrace".
A high-level BJP delegation moved the Election Commission of India (ECI) Wednesday, filing a formal complaint against Congress president and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge over his “terrorist” remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP has demanded a public apology from Kharge and the Congress for using “abusive language” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Consisting of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and BJP national general secretary Arun Singh, the delegation alleged that the Congress had overstepped all limits in “abusing the Prime Minister”.
The row erupted Tuesday after Kharge allegedly called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “terrorist” at a press conference in Chennai in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, a remark that drew condemnation and sharp reactions from the BJP and senior ministers in the Union government.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Rijiju said, “By insulting the Prime Minister through the word Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge used, I think this is no longer a matter restricted to the BJP, it is a matter concerning our nation, our democracy. You can all understand the depth to which the Congress party has taken both conduct and statements related to public propriety.”
A high-level BJP delegation met the @ECISVEEP today with deep sorrow and anger.
For @kharge ji to call Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji a “terrorist” is not just a remark, it is a grave insult to the entire nation.
Such disgraceful conduct cannot be normalised. We have urged the… pic.twitter.com/oBkzPkaWf0
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 22, 2026
“The Prime Minister of the country is not just the BJP’s, he is everyone’s Prime Minister. He became Prime Minister after getting elected with the blessings of 140 crore Indians; calling him a terrorist – you can all understand that mentality of the Congress… Today they have crossed all limits… Today is also the (first) year since the Pahalgam (attack),” he said, adding that the delegation had sought strict action against and an apology from him.
Sitharaman said the delegation had sought to underline to the ECI that “no less than the president of the Congress party” had spoken “such condemnable words” against the PM in an election-bound state on the eve of a year since the Pahalgam terror attack.
She added that Kharge’s statement was in line with “a pattern” of using “chosen abusive language against the Prime Minister” repeatedly; she also took on the Congress for failing in the face of terror during its era.
“We highlighted the fact that if a party repeatedly does this…the words Shri Mallikarjun Kharge has used is the bottom-most in the pit…a country, where its Prime Minister has repeatedly said ‘zero tolerance for terror’… as opposed to the way in which the Congress-led UPA acted… they did all kinds of compromises, they didn’t take any action…the Congress party is frustrated,” Sitharaman alleged.
On the final day of campaigning in Tamil Nadu, Kharge said, “Periyar, Dr Ambedkar, Annadurai, Kamaraj and Kalaignar – these people stood for women’s reservation, justice, equality and fraternity. Modi is not for these principles… How can these AIADMK people join hands with Modi when their party itself was founded by Annadurai? He is a terrorist. His party does not believe in equality and justice. These people are joining with them – it means they are weakening democracy.”
Asked to clarify what he meant, the Congress president said, “I just want to clarify that what I said was that Modi always threatens, using agencies in his hand, such as the ED and I-T. All these institutions are in his hands. Again, this delimitation is also something he wants to take into his hands. Therefore, in that context, I said he is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist.”
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A high-level BJP delegation moved the Election Commission of India (ECI) Wednesday, filing a formal complaint against Congress president and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge over his “terrorist” remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP has demanded a public apology from Kharge and the Congress for using “abusive language” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Consisting of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and BJP national general secretary Arun Singh, the delegation alleged that the Congress had overstepped all limits in “abusing the Prime Minister”.
The row erupted Tuesday after Kharge allegedly called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “terrorist” at a press conference in Chennai in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, a remark that drew condemnation and sharp reactions from the BJP and senior ministers in the Union government.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Rijiju said, “By insulting the Prime Minister through the word Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge used, I think this is no longer a matter restricted to the BJP, it is a matter concerning our nation, our democracy. You can all understand the depth to which the Congress party has taken both conduct and statements related to public propriety.”
A high-level BJP delegation met the @ECISVEEP today with deep sorrow and anger.
For @kharge ji to call Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji a “terrorist” is not just a remark, it is a grave insult to the entire nation.
Such disgraceful conduct cannot be normalised. We have urged the… pic.twitter.com/oBkzPkaWf0
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 22, 2026
“The Prime Minister of the country is not just the BJP’s, he is everyone’s Prime Minister. He became Prime Minister after getting elected with the blessings of 140 crore Indians; calling him a terrorist – you can all understand that mentality of the Congress… Today they have crossed all limits… Today is also the (first) year since the Pahalgam (attack),” he said, adding that the delegation had sought strict action against and an apology from him.
Sitharaman said the delegation had sought to underline to the ECI that “no less than the president of the Congress party” had spoken “such condemnable words” against the PM in an election-bound state on the eve of a year since the Pahalgam terror attack.
She added that Kharge’s statement was in line with “a pattern” of using “chosen abusive language against the Prime Minister” repeatedly; she also took on the Congress for failing in the face of terror during its era.
“We highlighted the fact that if a party repeatedly does this…the words Shri Mallikarjun Kharge has used is the bottom-most in the pit…a country, where its Prime Minister has repeatedly said ‘zero tolerance for terror’… as opposed to the way in which the Congress-led UPA acted… they did all kinds of compromises, they didn’t take any action…the Congress party is frustrated,” Sitharaman alleged.
On the final day of campaigning in Tamil Nadu, Kharge said, “Periyar, Dr Ambedkar, Annadurai, Kamaraj and Kalaignar – these people stood for women’s reservation, justice, equality and fraternity. Modi is not for these principles… How can these AIADMK people join hands with Modi when their party itself was founded by Annadurai? He is a terrorist. His party does not believe in equality and justice. These people are joining with them – it means they are weakening democracy.”
Asked to clarify what he meant, the Congress president said, “I just want to clarify that what I said was that Modi always threatens, using agencies in his hand, such as the ED and I-T. All these institutions are in his hands. Again, this delimitation is also something he wants to take into his hands. Therefore, in that context, I said he is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist.”
