A high-level Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation comprising Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Kiren Rijiju, and Arjun Ram Meghwal met the Election Commission of India on Wednesday over Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s alleged remarks referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “terrorist,” triggering a major political controversy.
Speaking to media after the meeting, Kiren Rijiju, as quoted by ANI, said the delegation raised strong objections over what they described as “derogatory and unacceptable language” used against the Prime Minister.
Rijiju said, “A high-level delegation, including senior ministers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, me, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal... met with the Election Commission... We addressed the derogatory language used by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge against the Prime Minister... It is a national issue, a democratic issue.”
He further added, “Calling the Prime Minister a terrorist is a crime... No political party has ever used such abusive language against the Prime Minister... We have requested the Commission that if any political party in the country uses such language, it is not our party's or the government's business, but a despicable act against democracy and weakens it in many ways.”
The BJP delegation demanded strict action from the Election Commission and also called for an unconditional apology from Kharge and the Congress party to the people of India. The issue, according to the BJP, reflects a repeated pattern of abusive political language targeting the Prime Minister.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, also quoted by ANI, said the delegation highlighted what they termed a consistent pattern of such remarks from the Congress party.
“The Congress has shown a pattern of repeatedly using abusive language against the Prime Minister... In front of the ECI, we highlighted the fact that if a party repeatedly does this, it is the bottom-most pit they are falling into... The PM has announced a policy of zero tolerance against terror, unlike the Congress-led UPA, which did not take any action against terrorists... We have demanded that the Commission take it with all seriousness and act firmly and sternly,” she said.
The controversy erupted after Mallikarjun Kharge, while criticising the AIADMK–BJP alliance ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, reportedly referred to Prime Minister Modi using the term “terrorist.” The remark later drew strong criticism from the BJP.
Kharge, however, later clarified that his comments were aimed at accusing the Prime Minister of “threatening” and “intimidating” opposition leaders, further intensifying the political row between the ruling party and the Congress.
