New Delhi [India], October 26 : Launching a sharp counter-offensive against Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and the party’s central leadership, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Monday said the Congress has "deteriorated completely" and described the grand old party as a "group of madmen" struggling to cope with successive electoral defeats.
Dubey invoked the aftermath of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, recalling how opposition stalwarts, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and veteran leader Lal Krishna Advani, stood in Parliament to defend then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi against derogatory remarks by US leaders, maintaining that national dignity came before partisan politics.
"The condition of the entire Congress party has deteriorated. In 1971-72, Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon used derogatory words against Indira ji after the Bangladesh war. Inside the same Parliament, leaders from Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Lal Krishna Advani defended her because she was the Prime Minister of the country," Dubey told reporters in New Delhi.
"They made it clear that we will not tolerate such language, and even if it came to severing ties with America, national pride would not be compromised. But the manner in which foul language is being used today reflects an unbalanced mindset," he said.
Stepping up his attack, the BJP MP claimed that Congress leaders are unnerved by their political prospects and unable to overcome their serial poll debacles.
"The reason behind this behaviour is that after losing over 100 elections, the Congress has still not recovered from the shock. They have realised that they will have to sit in the opposition for the next 10 to 20 years," Dubey said.
Reiterating his remarks against the Congress high command, the MP added: "What I said yesterday, I am repeating today — today's Congress is a group of madmen, and this leadership extends all the way from Mallikarjun Kharge to Rahul Gandhi." 
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Monday launched a scathing attack on Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, demanding an apology over their remarks regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parents and stating that the people of the country "will never accept this."Condemning the Congress leadership's comments, Pathak asserted that repeatedly targeting the Prime Minister's family is contrary to India’s cultural values and strikes at the very ethos of "Bharat Mata".
Speaking to reporters here, Pathak said that such remarks go against the cultural ethos and traditional values of the country.
"The manner in which the leadership of the Congress party, including Kharge ji and Rahul Gandhi, has, from time to time, made remarks regarding the respected father and mother of PM Modi, is contrary to India’s culture, its values, and the ethos of 'Bharat Mata'," Pathak said.
The Deputy Chief Minister further asserted that the citizens of the nation would reject such politics and called for an unconditional apology from the Congress leadership.
"The people of this country will never accept this; they must apologise," Pathak added.