Reacting to the remarks of Haryana Congress Chief Udai Bhan’s derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Haryana Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief OP Dhankhar on Saturday said that the Congress should apologize.
“It was an unfortunate statement. The Congress should apologize. It should feel shame. Udai Bhan crossed all limits of indecency. But I saw another video of his, what is more unfortunate is that he is justifying his remarks”, Mr Dhankhar said while speaking to ANI.
Earlier today, Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan used derogatory language to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
In a viral video, the Haryana Congress chief can be heard using abusive words while referring to the Prime Minister and the Haryana Chief Minister.
The remarks made by Mr Bhan led to a controversy with several BJP leaders condemning it and seeking an apology from the Congress party.
Meanwhile, Haryana BJP Chief Dhankhar added, “It seems like the Congress is angry. A few days back, Randeep Surjewala said that he would “curse” the public. Are you a saint? On Ramesh Bidhuri’s remarks, Union Minister Rajnath Singh stood up and condemned it”.
Udai Bhan, seen to be a loyalist of former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was made Haryana Congress chief in 2022. He replaced Kumari Selja who was made AICC in-charge of Chhattisgarh.
Asked about his remarks, Mr Bhan remained unapologetic claiming that his words “were Haryanvi slang”.
“What have I said that is wrong…I have only described the truth. Is this language wrong, this is a normal language in Haryana. We call unmarried men by this slang in Haryana and that is not an abuse” Udai Bhan told ANI.
“I have only spoken the truth. If I had said something wrong, like what was said by that MP, I would have apologised. This is just a light comment made at a press conference which has been made into a needless issue. This is normal language used in Haryana,” he added.
The BJP has demanded that the Congress take action against its state unit chief.
Party Spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged that Congress has always used this kind of language for the Prime Minister.
“This video has caused extreme pain and anguish among BJP workers and the common man. This is below-the-belt language, it is the height of low-level politics which is being played by the Congress. Congress has always used this kind of language for the PM and his family,” he said.
“When one of our MPs made an unparliamentary remark in the House (Lok Sabha) our senior leader apologised for that and the party sent him a notice, what action will the Congress take against someone who is their state unit chief and thus the official voice of the party?” he asked.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
