A comedian’s performance at the September 19 student event triggered criticism from BJP leaders, while Congress defended it as political mimicry and satire — and the video itself spread widely across social media, drawing reactions well beyond the two parties.
Photo Credit: Unknown.
What Happened at the Indore Event?
On September 19, 2026, Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition of Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi held a student outreach event called “Chhatron Ki Goonj” in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. During the event, stand-up comedian Pulkit Mani joined Gandhi on stage and performed an impersonation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress’s own official X account, @INCIndia, posted a video of the performance the next day. That video became the basis for a sharp political row between the BJP and Congress that played out over the following two days.
What Happened During the Mimicry?
Based on the video Congress itself shared, Mani came on stage and hugged Gandhi before beginning the act. He said, “My friend, how are you?” — mimicking Modi’s well-known phrase used with foreign leaders, without naming him directly. Gandhi replied, “I am fine, how are you Modi ji?” Mani responded, “Great harassment,” continuing to repeat “my friend” while exaggerating Modi’s gestures and manner of speaking. The act also referenced a coin trick Modi has performed with children, and a moment from a 2024 rally in West Bengal’s Howrah where Modi paused his speech to ask security staff to bring a chair for an elderly woman in the crowd. During the act, Mani said, “Maa ke liye kursi lao” (“Get a chair for mother”).
Why Did the BJP Criticise the Performance?
Several senior BJP leaders posted public statements on X objecting to the performance. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami wrote, in Hindi, that it was “extremely shameful and painful” to see what he described as objectionable words spoken about Modi’s late mother, adding, “A mother is not a subject of politics.” Union minister Kiren Rijiju posted, “The Congress party has become a party of comedians and jokers… RIP.” Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi called the act “shameful and disgusting,” accusing Gandhi and Congress of “weaponising a student interaction to mock and insult the late mother of PM” Modi. BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan, speaking in a video statement carried by PTI’s own X account, said Gandhi shared the stage with someone who “insulted our nari shakti [women’s strength] and mocked an elderly woman.” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis separately said, “The way Rahul Gandhi is doing mimicry, I feel he should quit the party and become a stand-up comedian.” Union minister Piyush Goyal also criticised the event, questioning what he called the “need to come on stage every now and then just to drag Prime Minister Modi ji’s name into cheap political theatre.”
How Did Congress Respond?
Congress did not withdraw or apologise for the video; it posted the clip itself on its official X account with the caption, in Hindi, roughly translating to “just a 19-20 difference” — a colloquial way of saying there’s barely any difference. Congress leader Pawan Khera also posted about the act on X, describing it, in Hindi, in terms that referenced the “great harassment” line and called it a satirical performance. Congress’s public framing throughout was that this was mimicry and satire directed at a public figure, not a personal attack.
What Was Rahul Gandhi’s Role?
Gandhi was present on stage throughout the act, responding directly to Mani’s lines in character (“I am fine, how are you Modi ji?” and, according to the same video, later saying “Very nice to meet you” and asking Mani to “tell me more”). BJP leaders, including Dhami and Kesavan, specifically criticised Gandhi for laughing during the performance, framing his reaction as evidence he endorsed or encouraged the content, including the reference to Modi’s mother. Congress has not disputed that Gandhi was present and participated in the exchange; its position is that his participation was part of a satirical sketch, not an endorsement of disrespect toward anyone.
The Bigger Issues Raised at the Event
It’s worth noting what the event was actually about before the mimicry became the story. “Chhatron Ki Goonj” was organised as a platform for students to raise concerns about education, examination and recruitment paper leaks, and unemployment — issues that formed the core of the programme’s original agenda. Those issues received far less coverage once the mimicry clip began circulating, with most political and media attention shifting to the performance itself.
Why Political Mimicry Becomes Controversial
Political mimicry has a long history in Indian public life, on both sides — this same dynamic has played out before, including a 2023 episode in Parliament where a video showed a Trinamool Congress MP mimicking then–Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, with Gandhi seen recording it. What makes any specific instance controversial isn’t the act of mimicry itself, which is a recognised form of political satire and falls within free expression — it’s where a given audience believes the line was crossed, particularly when a performance touches on a leader’s family members rather than their public conduct or policies. Different people, understandably, draw that line in different places, which is exactly why the same video can be described by one side as ordinary political comedy and by the other as a personal insult.
What Is Confirmed and What Is Disputed?
Confirmed: The event took place in Indore on September 19, 2026; Pulkit Mani performed an impersonation of PM Modi on stage; Gandhi was present and engaged with the performance; the act included a line referencing a “chair for mother”; BJP leaders publicly criticised the performance and Gandhi’s reaction; Congress defended the act as satire.
Disputed: Whether the “chair for mother” line and the overall performance constituted a personal insult to Modi’s late mother, as BJP leaders allege, or was purely a reference to Modi’s own public 2024 rally moment reworked as satire, as Congress’s framing implies. This interpretation gap is the actual core of the disagreement, and it has not been independently settled by either side.
From Student Event to Political Row
Within a day of the video circulating, the story had moved almost entirely away from the event’s original subject — student concerns over jobs, exams, and education — and into a familiar BJP-Congress exchange of statements on X, television soundbites, and competing framings of the same three-minute video clip. This is a familiar pattern in Indian politics: a short moment at a larger event becomes the entire story, while the event’s stated purpose recedes into the background.
Conclusion: Satire, Politics and the Limits of Political Expression
What remains after the statements from both sides is a genuine and unresolved disagreement about where political satire ends and personal insult begins — a question this article does not attempt to settle. The facts of what was said and done on stage are documented in the video both parties have referenced. How that video should be judged is, at this point, a matter of political interpretation, not established fact.
By The Lion Capital Editorial Team | September 2026