The Congress party’s stinging attack in Parliament against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led government in the aftermath of the Bhima-Koregaon clashes may be a manifestation of its concerns over the prevailing situation in the region but isn’t devoid of political undertones.

In many ways, the grand old party Wednesday sought to avenge a UPA-era charge that the BJP has used to define the party’s senior-most leader time and again.

Raising the issue of Bhima-Koregaon clashes in the Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition in the Lower House Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that it was the RSS that was behind the violence and that the PM cannot remain a “mute spectator”.

“Supreme Court judge should be appointed for inquiry in Bhima Koregaon violence; PM should also give a statement, he can’t stay mum! He is a ‘Mauni baba’ on such issues,” Kharge said, furthering his attack on the RSS for allegedly “instigating the event”.

One shouldn’t ideally fault the Congress’ demand that the PM addresses the issue in Parliament. After all, Maharashtra is on the tenterhooks over violence that ensued after the anniversary celebrations of the Bhima-Koregaon battle fought 200 years ago. A 30-year-old man was killed in the violence.

A statewide bandh called today to protest the state government’s alleged failure to stop violence has witnessed stray protests by Dalits. Transport services have been hit – buses have gone off roads in Mumbai, movement of inter-state buses between Karnataka and Maharashtra have been suspended and Internet services have been halted in parts of the state as a precautionary measure.

Such developments have traditionally acted as fodder for opposition parties, which, by all means, are entitled to demand answers of the government for what it sees as a failure of the state government.

However, it is the personal attack on PM Narendra Modi that appears to have trivialised the issue. For, silence is a virtue that the ruling BJP has usually associated with former PM Manmohan Singh. Reticent and composed in his demanour, it is Singh who has been on the receiving end for his apparent silence on issues of corruption. Singh’s silence has even been portrayed by the BJP as his inability to control the misgivings of the erstwhile UPA era.

It is in this context that the Congress’ attack on PM Modi, dubbing him a “Mauni baba” (mute spectator), needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. For, in doing so, the Congress has sought to hit two birds with an arrow.

While on one hand, the Congress has sought to further its political agenda by blaming the RSS for the violence, on the other, it has sought to turn the tables against the PM and the ruling BJP by dubbing their own leader a “silent spectator”.

One may have looked the other way had it not been for these remarks by BJP president Amit Shah less than a year ago. Defending the PM against opposition’s attacks over his frequent foreign trips at the time, Shah said that Manmohan Singh had undertaken more foreign trips than Prime Minister Modi but nobody ever noticed.

“It is said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertakes frequent foreign trips. Earlier when ‘Shrimaan Mauni Baba’ used to go to foreign tours, nobody knew about it,” he said addressing the BJP executive meeting in Lucknow on its concluding day in May last year.

The Congress’ attack against PM Modi on Wednesday thus came across more as a sharp political comeback at the PM and the BJP for their attacks against Singh through 2014 and beyond and not as much as a concern for the happenings in the state.

Even if one were to discount the Congress’ stand in Parliament as plain aggression and anguish over the situation in Maharashtra, personal attacks against the Prime Minister have traditionally gone against the Congress. If there was ever a doubt, ask Mani Shankar Aiyar!