A faux pas by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge caused much mirth among the treasury benches in the Rajya Sabha on Friday and also became a rare instance of the government wholeheartedly agreeing with an Opposition leader's statement.
Speaking in the House on the issue of women's representation, Mr Kharge was making a point about the government's majority in the Lok Sabha, when he said, "Aapka itna bahumat hai, pehle 330,334 thi, ab to '400 paar' ho raha hai (You have a majority of 330, 334 seats and 400 is being crossed now)."
While the Congress chief was probably referring to the BJP slogan in which it has set a target of winning over 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the faux pas prompted laughter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present in the House, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, others in the treasury benches, and even Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Amid the laughter, Mr Kharge tried to clarify his statement when Mr Goyal got up and said, "Today, Kharge ji has finally said the truth and nothing but the truth."
Posting a clip of the speech on X, the BJP also took a dig at the Congress President. The caption with the video read, "PM Modi be like, 'I need new haters, the old ones have become my fans...'"
Reacting to Mr Goyal's statement, Mr Dhankhar said, "I think a leader of opposition has never been applauded so much, it's a record. Your (Mr Kharge's) speech is being praised."
The Congress chief retorted, "I know why it is being praised. They (the BJP) are blowing their own trumpet, saying they will get 400 seats or 500 seats... They won't cross even 100 seats. INDIA is strong."
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