Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge sparks a political row after saying in a Diwali greeting that “Diwali is…an Eid of happiness/joy,” prompting immediate backlash from the BJP. The controversy centers on Kharge’s remarks made while extending festive greetings on November 7 and his appeal for peace and unity.
Across outlets, the dispute is framed as an argument over cultural and religious wording. The BJP accuses the Congress of hurting Hindu sentiments and pursuing “appeasement,” with some coverage characterising the criticism as disrespectful or suggesting the comparison undermines each festival’s distinct identity. Congress and its allies, by contrast, defend the phrasing as a general or metaphorical use of “Eid” meaning celebration, and as a message of shared joy in a secular country.
While most reporting agrees on the basic sequence—Kharge’s greeting, then BJP criticism and Congress rebuttal—coverage varies in emphasis. Some outlets foreground BJP’s challenge to the Congress to extend the comparison toward Eid, while others focus on the Congress counter-argument about the meaning of “Eid” and the broader call for unity.
