Congress's Pawan Khera mocks PM Modi's father, invites BJP's ire
What's the story
After Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera allegedly mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name and his father while criticizing the Centre over the Adani Group controversy, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders reacted sharply, deciding to stage a protest on Tuesday. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also slammed Khera for his "horrible" remarks. Meanwhile, a case has been filed against Khera at Lucknow's Hazratganj Police Station.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Khera allegedly made the mocking remarks at a recent conference where he mentioned the Adani Group's fraud allegations and questioned the Centre's inaction on it. Notably, Hindenburg Research, based in the United States, has accused the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate of accounting fraud and stock manipulation. Soon after the scandal broke, the Opposition began accusing the government of being partisan on the issue.
Reaction
BJP holding protest in Delhi against Khera's 'mocking remarks'
Reportedly, the BJP is likely to hold a protest on Tuesday outside Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence in Delhi over Khera's remarks. Meanwhile, Assam CM Sarma slammed Khera, stating that the country will not forgive "these horrible remarks of Congressmen." "Make no mistake- pathetic remarks by courtier Pawan Khera on PM's father have blessings of the top levels of Congress," he tweeted.
Twitter Post
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma tweets against Congress spokesperson
Make no mistake- pathetic remarks by courtier Pawan Khera on PM’s father have blessings of the top levels of Congress, which is full of entitlement and disdain against a person of humble origins being PM. India will not forget or forgive these horrible remarks of Congressmen.
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 20, 2023
Case
FIR against Khera in Uttar Pradesh
On Monday, the Uttar Pradesh Police registered a case against Khera following a complaint by BJP leader Mukesh Sharma, who alleged that the Congress leader "intentionally made fun" of PM Modi's late father. The case was registered at Hazratganj Police Station in Lucknow under various Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and Section 500 (defamation).
Information
Home Minister Amit Shah reacted too
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also reacted to the issue and said the people would respond to the language used by Congress leaders through the upcoming elections. "The Congress won't be visible even when searching using binoculars in 2024 general elections (sic)," he said.
Controversial remarks
Controversial statements by Khera
Khera reportedly misspelled PM Modi's name during a press conference last Friday but later claimed that he was confused. However, BJP leaders accused him of mocking Modi and his father in connection to the Adani-Hindenburg row. Khera had said that when a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) could be set up by former prime ministers, "What is the problem of Narendra Gautamdas, sorry...Narendra Damodardas Modi."