'Don't wish to live for long ...': Emotional Kharge urges Chair to expunge 'parivarvaad' remarks against him

NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge asked the chairman to expunge remarks made by BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari over his political journey, mentioning that Congress president's "entire family was involved in politics".
"He made a comment regarding 'parivarvaad'. I request that this should be expunged (from the records)," Kharge said.
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said he would review Tiwari's comments from the previous day and assured that any statement causing offense to Kharge would be removed from the record.
Following the presentation of a listed paper in the House, Kharge addressed the remarks made by Tiwari, who had commented on Kharge's political career and mentioned that Kharge's entire family was involved in politics. Kharge requested that references to "parivarvaad" be removed from the records.
Kharge elaborated on his background, saying that he was a first-generation politician who began his career with the Congress party. He mentioned that his father had passed away at the age of 85.
In response, Chairman Dhankhar wished Kharge a long life, to which Kharge responded, "I don't wish to live for long in this environment."
Dhankhar, who was presiding over the House when Tiwari made the remarks, suggested that Tiwari might not have intended any offense. The Chairman assured that the comments would be carefully examined.
Kharge also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tweet regarding remarks made by Anurag Thakur about Rahul Gandhi. Modi had shared Thakur’s comments on X, describing them as a "perfect mix of facts and humour" and accusing the INDI Alliance of dirty politics.
Kharge condemned the Prime Minister's tweet, saying, "PM Modi should know where to speak and who to defend. Such inflammatory statements should not be made in Parliament."
Kharge accused Anurag Thakur of deliberately insulting Rahul Gandhi and questioned the need for the Prime Minister’s involvement in the matter. He also highlighted that discussions about caste should not occur in Parliament, noting that many leaders from various parties are involved in intercaste or interfaith marriages and questioning whether this would lead to scrutiny of everyone's caste.