AHMEDABAD: Calling it a 'second war of independence', Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge launched a sharp attack on the Modi government, accusing it of perpetuating communalism, injustice, and inequality.
Addressing the AICC session, Kharge drew parallels with colonial rule, saying the same 'ills' once propagated by foreign rulers are now being advanced by the country’s government.
He said today’s regime is exploiting communalism just as the British once did. However, he vowed that the Congress will win the war.
Slamming the BJP’s eleven-year rule, he alleged continuous assaults on the Constitution, with institutions under siege and Opposition voices stifled, citing that Rahul Gandhi was being denied the chance to speak in Parliament.
Kharge also flagged foreign policy concerns, like the US. imposing a 26 per cent tariff on Indian imports, which went undebated in Parliament -- proof, he said, of the government's focus on polarisation over pressing issues.
Accusing the government of fostering monopolies, he said privatisation of PSUs was denying jobs and reservation benefits to marginalised communities.
He charged the Election Commission with bias, pointing to alleged voter list manipulation in Maharashtra and refusal to adopt ballot papers despite global trends.
Kharge painted a grim economic picture: 15 lakh affluent Indians migrating abroad, unemployed youth deported, while bank defaulters live comfortably overseas.
Criticising the government’s narrative that 'everything began in 2014', he noted the scrapping of the Planning Commission that year.
He said federal principles have since been eroded, with Opposition-ruled states denied rightful funds.
Welcoming the Supreme Court’s ruling on governors, he said elected governments must not be undermined.
He accused the Centre of communalising education, depriving marginalised students of opportunities to push them into cheap labour.
On farmers, he said the government crushed their protests and reneged on MSP promises. "Labour laws were diluted, trade unions weakened, and wages remained stagnant for a decade," he claimed.
Mocking the 'Make in India' slogan, Kharge revealed five lakh MSMEs had shut down in five years, while inflation continued to batter the poor -- especially via rising fuel and gas prices despite international drops.
Urging party workers to commit fully, he said those unwilling to work should step aside.
Kharge said, "If you all cooperate and be with the Congress party, then we will certainly form government in next Gujarat elections."