A political program was going on in Patna on Sunday 25th October. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge was addressing party workers. Then a comment was heard from the crowd regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi that 'Modi will not go'.
In response, Kharge said, "Modi's father will also go."
On October 25, 2026, news agency ANI shared the video of this statement on its social media account.
Expressing strong objection to this statement, Home Minister Amit Shah wrote on Twitter, "Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has violated all decorum by making indecent remarks about Modi ji's father in Patna today."
BJP leaders called it an insult to Prime Minister Modi's late father and demanded an apology from Kharge. After this, old clips and posts of leaders of different parties started going viral on social media, in which they had given controversial statements on the personal lives of their opponents.
Even before this, leaders have been commenting about each other's personal life and family. In such a situation, the question arises that why such statements are made?
Do such statements give political benefits to the leaders and do they not fear the law?
BBC Hindi spoke to senior journalists and political experts Vijay Trivedi and Rashid Kidwai regarding these questions.
It is not that the controversial statements have been limited to any particular party, sometimes there has been a lot of uproar over the statements of the leaders of the ruling party and sometimes of the opposition.
In October 2012, at an election rally in Himachal Pradesh, Narendra Modi had called Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar as '50 crore girlfriend'.
On this, Shashi Tharoor replied on Twitter that love has no price.
In April 2024, Modi had said in an election rally that earlier when his (Congress) government was in power, he had said that Muslims have the first right on the country's property, which means they will collect this property and distribute it to whom - those who have more children, they will distribute it to the infiltrators.
At the same time, in July 2024, Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at BJP leaders in the Lok Sabha and said that those who call themselves Hindus, spread violence, hatred and untruths 24 hours a day. He also said that the message of truth and non-violence has been given in Hindu religion.
On such statements, senior journalist Vijay Trivedi said that sometimes big attacks are carried out to come into limelight and show themselves powerful.
He said that when leaders have no other reason to attack, they make personal verbal attacks on opposition leaders.
At the same time, Rashid Kidwai said that a major reason behind giving controversial statements is to attract people's attention and create a stir. Politicians often make statements keeping in mind their caste equation, political base or religious community. They feel that their supporters will not go against them, hence they do not hesitate in making such comments.
In India, no separate law applies to the controversial statements of leaders.
Depending on what is said in the statement, about whom it is said, what is its context and what kind of harm or danger it creates, action can be taken under different sections of the Indian Justice Code (BNS).
Some leaders have also been punished in such cases. According to a Times of India report, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was sentenced to two years in jail for his controversial remarks about officials during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign.
In October 2026, a local court rejected Azam Khan's appeal and upheld the sentence. Due to this punishment, he was disqualified from membership of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. However, in a separate case related to the same election campaign, the court also upheld the decision of his acquittal.
However, leaders within the Parliament and Legislative Assembly enjoy special protection under Articles 105(2) and 194(2) of the Constitution. Under these, they are exempted from court proceedings for what they say in the House.
Vijay Trivedi said on this that politicians feel that no one can do anything against them. Vijay Trivedi says, "Only one or two cases out of a hundred reach the court. Even when people reach the court, in most of the cases they are acquitted."
At the same time, according to senior journalist Rashid Kidwai, there are many controversial statements of leaders on which it is not easy to take legal action. One reason for this is the lengthy legal process in India. The second reason is that every objectionable comment in itself does not constitute defamation or any crime.
He said that many times other people complain about insulting a person, but the affected person himself may have to come forward to take legal action.
Senior advocate and Bar Council of India member Jitendra Kumar Sharma told BBC Hindi that there are no separate provisions in the law for politicians and common citizens.
Sharma says, "If someone makes a statement that hurts someone's sentiments, creates a threat of breach of peace or may threaten the security of the nation, then action can be taken against him under appropriate sections of the Indian Code of Justice (BNS)."
Leaders often have to face public anger due to controversial statements and sometimes even have to face court action. Even after this, controversial statements are often made. In such a situation, the question also arises whether giving controversial statements brings benefit or loss to the party?
Regarding this, Vijay Trivedi told BBC Hindi, "Sometimes one gets political benefit by repeatedly making allegations against a leader. Repeated allegations continuously can tarnish the image of that leader in the minds of people, even if the allegations are not proved in the court later."
On this, Rashid Kidwai said that despite controversial statements, leaders getting tickets in elections and winning is an indication that such statements do not always have a negative impact on their political position. If the leaders were facing continuous losses due to these statements, then perhaps they would have thought before making such comments.
He said, "There is a lack of communication and sensitivity in Indian politics. Earlier, leaders used to think many times before making any objectionable comment about women, but now the same social or political pressure is not always visible on such comments."
In response to this question, Vijay Trivedi said that sometimes due to controversial statements the original issue gets left behind. In such a situation, the party may have to suffer loss because the core issue on which it had to corner the government remains out of the discussion. As a result, the political pressure that should have been created through that issue becomes weak.
Rashid Kidwai said on this that many times attempts are made to change the direction of political debate through controversial statements. When the opposition is cornering the government on some issue and creating its narrative, then the controversial statement of one of its leaders gives the opponents an opportunity to counterattack.
He said that in the case of Mallikarjun Kharge's statement also, it can be seen from this perspective. In such a situation, the attention shifts from the issue on which the opposition was pressurizing the government and focuses on the statement of its leader.
