Congress chief says he meant PM ‘terrorising people and parties’
A political row erupted after Mallikarjun Kharge, chief of the Indian National Congress, referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “terrorist” during a press conference on Tuesday, before later clarifying his remarks.
Kharge made the comment while criticising the alliance between the AIADMK and the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Tamil Nadu polls.
He said,
“How these AIADMK people, who themselves put the photo of Annadurai, how can they join Modi? He is a terrorist. His party won’t believe in equality and justice. These people are joining with them; it means they are weakening democracy, they are weakening the philosophy of Annadurai, Kamaraj, Periyar, Kaliagnar, Baba Saheb Ambedkar,”
Kharge issues clarification
When asked to put his statement in context, Kharge sought to clarify that he did not intend to label the Prime Minister as a terrorist.
He said,
“No, no,”
Adding,
“He (PM Modi) is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist…What I mean, I want to clarify, is that Modi always threatens. The institutions like ED, I-T and CBI are in his hands. He wants to take delimitation also into his hands. Therefore I said , in that context, he is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist,”
#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge says, “How these AIADMK people, who themselves put the photo of Annadurai, how can they join Modi? He is a terrorist. His party won’t believe in equality and justice. These people are joining with them; it means… pic.twitter.com/znLvE7hutP
— ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2026
BJP hits back
The remarks drew sharp criticism from the BJP, with party spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accusing the Congress of using abusive language.
He said,
“The Congress is an “Urban Naxal” party; that is why Kharge employs abusive language against the Prime Minister. This is not the first time this has happened. The repeated use of venomous rhetoric, including death threats, makes one thing abundantly clear: the Congress party’s “remote control” lies in the hands of anti-national forces,”
Backdrop of political tensions
The exchange comes amid heightened political tensions between the ruling party and the opposition.
Just days earlier, Prime Minister Modi had criticised the Congress and other opposition parties over the defeat of a women’s reservation bill, accusing them of committing “foeticide” of the legislation.
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