When Will Congress Learn That Name-Calling Modi Does Not Pay
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2026-04-21 15:30:50
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
View all posts by this Author
India's political discourse hit yet another low when Mallikarjun Kharge chose to describe Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "terrorist". The Congress president later attempted a clarification, arguing that the remark was meant in the context of political intimidation. But such explanations ring hollow. In a country that has suffered decades of terrorism, the word carries a gravity that cannot be diluted through rhetorical convenience. Once uttered, it leaves a lasting imprint that no post-facto clarification can erase.
More importantly, this is not an isolated lapse. It fits into a long and troubling pattern within sections of the Congress leadership, where political opposition has repeatedly slipped into personal denigration. Over the years, a string of leaders have resorted to language that has often overshadowed substantive critique.
As far back as 2013, V. Hanumantha Rao used an unsavoury phrase (gandi naali ka keeda) to describe Modi. Around the same time, Mani Shankar Aiyar suggested that Modi, then a prime ministerial candidate, was fit only to sell tea at Congress sessions - a remark widely seen as elitist and dismissive of his background. The controversy escalated further when Aiyar referred to him as a "neech aadmi", triggering public outrage and disciplinary action within the party.
The pattern persisted. Shashi Tharoor, quoting a remark attributed to another commentator, invoked the metaphor of a "scorpion sitting on a Shivling". Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused Modi of practising "neech rajneeti". Senior leader B.K. Hariprasad likened him to a "poisonous snake". Perhaps the most politically resonant of these was Rahul Gandhi's "chowkidar chor hai" slogan during the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections - a line that dominated headlines but ultimately failed to translate into electoral gains.
If anything, electoral outcomes suggest that such rhetoric has consistently backfired. The 2014 general election delivered the Congress its worst-ever tally. In 2019, despite an aggressive campaign centred around personal attacks, the party fared little better while Modi returned to power with an even stronger mandate. Far from denting his image, these attacks have often reinforced his projection as an outsider taking on a condescending political establishment.
This is where the Congress's political miscalculation becomes most evident. Personal invective may energise a partisan base, but it risks alienating the broader electorate that expects a contest of ideas, governance records, and policy alternatives. In reducing the discourse to name-calling, the opposition inadvertently shifts the focus away from issues where it could mount a more credible challenge. Had Congress leaders drawn lessons from these repeated missteps, the party might not find itself in such dire straits today.
Kharge's latest remark, therefore, is unlikely to be remembered as a moment of political sharpness. Instead, it risks joining a long list of statements that have done more harm to the Congress than to its principal opponent. If recent history is any guide, the remark may well outlive the clarification - and not in a way the party would have intended. Kharge may yet come to regret the moment he chose that word.
