Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on Tuesday over the controversy surrounding alleged abusive remarks directed at his late mother. He described the issue as “painful” and said that his mother, who had no link with politics and had already passed away, was still being targeted.

He made these comments while addressing the launch of the Bihar Rajya Jeevika Nidhi Saakh Sahkari Sangh Limited. Modi said the incident was not only an insult to his mother but to all mothers and daughters of Bihar.

Controversy over viral video

The row began after a video clip surfaced on social media last week. The footage showed unidentified people allegedly using abusive language against Modi’s mother during the Congress party’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in poll-bound Bihar.

The video, said to be from Darbhanga district, quickly went viral. It showed the moment before Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav began their motorcycle journey to Muzaffarpur. However, the authenticity of the clip could not be independently confirmed.

Modi recalls his mother’s sacrifices

Modi emotionally recalled his mother’s role in his life. “My mother separated me from her so that I could serve crores of mothers like you. You all know that now my mother is not alive. Some time ago, after completing 100 years of age, she left us all. That mother of mine, who has nothing to do with politics, who is no more, was abused from the stage of the RJD, Congress,” he said.

The Prime Minister added that those who hurl abuses at his mother are the same people who disrespect “Mother India.” He said such behavior deserves punishment. Modi further spoke about growing up in poverty and how his mother sacrificed everything for the family. “She would never buy a new saree for herself and would save every penny for our family,” he recalled.

He stressed that millions of Indian mothers make similar sacrifices daily. “Like my mother, crores of mothers of my nation do 'tapasya' every day,” he said.

BJP lashes out at opposition

The BJP strongly condemned the incident, accusing Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra of crossing “all limits of insult, hate and tastelessness.”

Party spokesperson Sambit Patra held Rahul Gandhi responsible for the remarks. He said the Congress, once proud of its role in the freedom struggle, had now turned into a “gali wali party” because the Gandhi family could not return to power.

Patra declared, "Congress ki galiyon ki dukan seal hogi, aur iski shuruat Bihar se hogi."

Earlier, the BJP alleged in a post on X that Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav were behind the offensive language. The party said, “Such lowliness was never seen before in politics. This Yatra has crossed all limits of insult, hate and tastelessness.”

Yatra at the center of controversy

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has been accompanying Rahul Gandhi on his ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra,’ which began on August 17. The Congress claims the campaign highlights widespread “vote theft” by the Election Commission at the BJP’s direction.