- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge targeted the government on the rupee's fall during a speech
- Kharge called Home Minister Amit Shah the main advisor, prompting Jairam Ramesh to say "Chanakya"
- Kharge joked that a "Chanakya" was sitting on both sides, causing laughter in the House
The fiery speech of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge during the discussion on the 150 years of Vande Mataram was punctuated by some light moments when the veteran leader responded to a prompt by party colleague and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh.
Kharge was targeting the government on the fall of the rupee when he referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah as a key advisor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "You would know, you are the main advisor and prime executive," he told Shah.
At this point, Ramesh, who was seated behind Kharge, prompted, "Chanakya". The Home Minister is often referred to as Chanakya, the chief advisor to Mauryan ruler Chandragupta, for his organisational skills and political strategising.
Kharge repeated the "Chanakya" expression. He then gestured towards Ramesh and told the treasury benches, "A Chanakya is sitting here too." This evoked a peal of laughter from both sides of the political aisle. Ramesh and Congress MP Digvijaya Singh were seen smiling. Home Minister Shah and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju smiled too.
The BJP used Kharge's remark to claim that the Congress's "internal fight" was out in the open. "Internal Fight out in the open! Mallikarjun Kharge TROLLS Jairam Ramesh," party spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said, sharing a clip of the exchange.
Addressing the House, Kharge said it was the Congress that made Vande Mataram a slogan for freedom. "Congress started the tradition of singing Vande Mataram at its conventions. Did you do it?" he asked the treasury benches. "The Prime Minister and the Home Minister do not miss an opportunity to insult Jawaharlal Nehru. The Prime Minister accused the Nehru-led Congress of removing key parts of Vande Mataram. He (Home Minister) spoke about Muslim appeasement. You are talking about this now? When you formed a government in Bengal in alliance with the Muslim League, where was your patriotism? Read your history," Kharge said.
The Congress chief said the Congress Working Committee in 1937 passed a resolution unanimously, recommending that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram should be sung at national events. "Was Nehruji alone? Why are you targeting him? If you are trying to target Nehruji's image, it is impossible."
Ramesh is known to prompt from behind when Kharge speaks in the House. In July 2024, the then Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar had noticed this and responded strongly. "Jairam Ramesh, you are so intelligent, gifted and talented, you should immediately come and take the (Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha) seat in place of Mr Kharge," he had said.
The Congress chief had hit back. "Don't divide, still in your mind, the varna system is there. That's why you are calling Ramesh very intelligent, and I am dull," he had told Dhankhar, who had then said he was misunderstood.
