Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday hailed the "united fight" against the Narendra Modi government, leading to the failure of "malicious" bills on delimitation in the Lok Sabha and urged the members of the INDIA bloc to strengthen the spirit and resolve to corner and confront the ruling dispensation on multiple pressing issues before the nation.
Kharge, making his opening remarks at the INDIA bloc meet, sought to share a strategic blueprint for rebuilding the Opposition alliance in the wake of recent setbacks in Assembly elections and also sought active contribution and deliberations from the respective stakeholders in making it a viable and tenable front against the Central government.
“On April 17, 2026, we demonstrated our unity and solidarity in the Lok Sabha in a very decisive manner when we all came together firmly to defeat the Modi government's malicious bills on delimitation. Now we must strengthen that same spirit even further and move forward, so that we can confront the many political, economic, social, and foreign policy challenges facing the country due to the Modi government's misgovernance," he said.
The Congress chief also lambasted the BJP-led NDA government on a host of issues, including assault on the Constitution, misuse of investigative agencies for bullying political rivals, while raising alarm over the "economic climate" in the country, particularly in light of the West Asia crisis.
Kharge stated that new investments are not coming in at the pace required to generate new jobs, private monopolies are growing in many sectors, and the future of MSMEs is in serious crisis. "Our foreign policy has been completely compromised, and those traditional values that India has long staunchly supported have not been upheld," he claimed.
The Congress leader termed issues like SIR and misuse of agencies for furthering political objectives as "deeply concerning" and also accused the Centre of discriminating against non-BJP governments. He said that SIR took away the voting rights of millions of people while the assault on the Constitution goes unabated.
Kharge pointed to the price rise of essential goods, creating havoc for the common man and said that "the economic environment in the country has turned extremely negative". He also flayed the government over paper leaks and claimed that the dreams and aspirations of youth were being ruined due to the complete mismanagement of the examination system.
“The hopes and aspirations of our lakhs of youth are being betrayed. Atrocities against the weaker sections of society, especially in BJP-ruled states, continue relentlessly,” he remarked.