Union Minister JP Nadda made an apology to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, after a contentious remark caused commotion during a discussion of Operation Sindoor.
"I have withdrawn my words. I also apologize if you have been offended," Nadda told the veteran Congress leader, trying to diffuse tensions after his previous statement caused a storm of protests from the Opposition.
The clash took place after Kharge finished a trenchant and scathing speech against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his first reaction, Nadda charged the Congress leader with having "lost his mental balance," which raised loud protests from Opposition benches and adjourned the proceedings.
Nadda then asked the chair to delete the words of Kharge from the record, saying they were spoken in a state of extreme emotion and were not up to his stature. "He has had long experience. The words used while speaking were not commensurate with his stature. The type of words used by him were of a low stature. So, I request you to delete those words," Nadda stated.
Kharge, clearly upset, answered curtly. "JP Nadda is one of the two or three ministers with whom I have great respect. But he is calling me mental. It is shameful, he should apologize, I am not going to let him go," he protested.
After that, Nadda apologized on record but stood by his objection. "But let me say that you got so carried away by your emotions that you could not even maintain the dignity of the Prime Minister. We are pained by this," he said.
Earlier, while speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the same Operation Sindoor debate, Kharge had asked sharp questions regarding the government's approach to national security. Reiterating the concerns expressed by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, he enumerated a string of terror attacks — Uri and Pathankot in 2016, Pulwama in 2019, and the latest Pahalgam attack in 2025.
"Ever since the BJP is in power, there have been attacks here. But nothing has been done about it. Uri and Pathankot attack in 2016, Pulawama attack in 2019 and now the Pahalgam attack in 2025," said Kharge.
The government has been accused by him of repeated failures in intelligence and national security and demanded accountability at the top levels. "All these incidents have indicated that there has been an ongoing intelligence failure and a national security failure. I want to question the Home Minister on who is taking responsibility for this? What has the government done to correct the errors in the intelligence failures? If you are guilty, resign from the post. If not, what action has the Prime Minister been undertaking.?" Kharge questioned.
In a last shot, Kharge attacked the ruling party's propensity for avoiding accountability. "How long can you live off the legacy of blaming your predecessors?" he said.
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