BJP lambasts Kharge over ‘illiterate’ remark, says he does not deserve to be Congress president

Reacting sharply to the alleged remarks by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on people from Gujarat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday (April 7, 2026) said he did not deserve to be the president of the principal Opposition party.

“Elections come and go, but has the Congress president abandoned all limits of propriety? This is the height of shamelessness and depravity,” said former Union Minister and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad at a press conference.

Addressing an election rally in Kerala on Sunday (April 5, 2026), Mr. Kharge had said people of the State are “educated and clever” and cannot be misled unlike those who are “illiterate” in Gujarat.

Mr. Prasad said several prominent figures, including Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Morarji Desai, and Vikram Sarabhai, hailed from the same Gujarat. He accused Mr. Kharge of making such a statement out of hatred for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“On behalf of the BJP, we demand that the Congress president apologise. I also ask Sonia Gandhi if she endorses these remarks. If Rahul Gandhi has any understanding, he should distance himself from the statement, condemn it, and ensure that an apology is tendered,” said Mr. Prasad, reiterating, ”Mr. Kharge does not deserve to be the Congress president.”

Earlier comments

Mr. Prasad also alleged that Mr. Kharge made similar remarks in the past about people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP leader also lambasted the Congress leader for his earlier “poisonous snake” comment against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP, made in Assam. “You have blatantly sought to stoke communal tension by pandering to religious sentiments. Even leftists or Maoists do not use such words,” he said.

Responding to allegations by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the deployment of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in the poll-bound State, Mr. Prasad said the move was necessary to ensure free, fair, and peaceful elections. “Mamata Ji is desperate. When leaders become desperate, they say anything. She is spreading fear among people based on lies,” he added.