Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the BJP, accusing it of “vote chori” and communal polarisation, and asserted that the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections would signal the beginning of the end of the Modi government’s “corrupt rule”.
Addressing the party’s extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Patna, Kharge also took aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over foreign policy setbacks, apparently referencing US President Donald Trump’s recent statements and actions.
“Our problems at the international level are the result of diplomatic failure of Narendra Modi and his government. The very friends whom the prime minister boasts about as ‘my friends’ are today putting India in numerous troubles,” he said.
Kharge said the meeting in Bihar, the “mother of democracy”, was essential to reaffirm the party’s pledge to protect the Constitution and ensure fair elections. He raised concerns over the transparency of the Election Commission, alleging voter lists were being tampered with.
“Following the example of Bihar, a conspiracy is now being hatched across the country to remove the votes of millions of people,” Kharge said, citing the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state. He linked “vote theft” to the denial of rations, pensions, medicines, scholarships, and exam fees to Dalits, tribals, backward classes, minorities, and the poor.
Highlighting economic and social grievances, he said, “The promise of ‘2 crore jobs’ remains unfulfilled. Youths are wandering without employment. Demonetisation and a flawed GST have derailed the economy. After eight years, the prime minister realised his mistake. Now, the same reforms have been introduced in GST that the Congress party had been demanding from day one.”
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Kharge also alleged internal tensions within the NDA, asserting that “Nitish Kumar has been mentally retired by the BJP. The BJP now considers him a burden.”
Calling attention to Bihar’s demographic composition, with 80 per cent of the population belonging to OBC, EBC, and SC/ST categories, Kharge pledged that the Congress, along with alliance partners, would deliver employment, education, health, social justice, and good governance.
“The 2025 Assembly elections will prove to be a milestone not only for Bihar but for the entire country. This will mark the beginning of the countdown and the end of the corrupt rule of the Modi government,” he said.
The extended CWC meeting, the first of its kind in Bihar since Independence, included top leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, treasurer Ajay Maken, general secretaries KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Sachin Pilot, and Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Kumar, who deliberated on poll strategy and mounted a sustained attack on the BJP.
Kharge unfurled the party flag at the state headquarters ahead of the meeting, signalling a renewed focus on the upcoming November Assembly polls.
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