BJP, Congress Clash Over Comedian's Modi Mimicry at Rahul Gandhi's Indore Event

A stand-up comedian's impersonation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' event in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, has triggered a sharp exchange between the BJP and the Congress.

The controversy began after the Congress shared a video on X showing comedian Pulkit Mani mimicking Modi during a skit with Gandhi at Saturday's event. The clip also featured footage of the Prime Minister with international leaders, tagged as "Narendra Modi's foreign policy", and showed the comedian pointing at the audience while saying, "Maa ko kursi do, maa..."

Union Minister Piyush Goyal reacted on X with the phrase "asanskari naraz fufa" (uncultured grumpy uncle), writing that the need to invoke Modi's name in "cheap political theatre" was striking, and asking Gandhi to "look in the mirror".

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said he had not imagined that a party which governed for nearly six decades would become a "circus" entertaining its own shrinking support base. He described Indians as proud that Modi is the world's most popular elected leader, called the Congress "a party of comedians and jokers", and asked Gandhi whether he felt no shame in mocking an elderly mother and the Prime Minister. Rijiju posted a video of Modi asking for a chair for an elderly woman at a rally.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, without naming Gandhi, said the behaviour of the "Congress's Yuvaraj" at his "jhooth ki goonj" programme insulted "naari shakti". He said any civilised person would first offer a chair to a woman, an elderly person or a differently abled person, and that those who have not learnt such values cannot be expected to uphold them.

BJP national general secretary Smriti Irani posted in Hindi on X: "Jab naash manuj per chhata hai, pehle vivek mar jaata hai" (When doom looms over a person, his wisdom dies first). BJP national secretary Sandeep Pathak, a Rajya Sabha MP, called the mimicry act a sign of desperation and the Congress's growing intellectual bankruptcy, saying the party had lost touch with India's values.

The Congress countered that Gandhi is exposing an anti-student system through his campaign. Party general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, tagging Gandhi's post on the programme, said the system suppressing students is controlled by "BJP-RSS people" who have hollowed out and corrupted the education system. He said students ask questions and demand accountability, and that Gandhi stands with them, with their voice now echoing across the country.

In Lucknow, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, asked about the controversy, said everyone has the same emotions for their mother and family, whether a journalist, the Prime Minister, a rickshaw-puller or a poor person, and asked whether the media had reported an incident when an aggrieved mother was asked not to deliver a speech.