Bhubaneswar: While addressing a public rally in Odisha, the Congress president also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that he wants to “finish” the Constitution of India and threw no light on the ongoing crisis in Manipur. Warning that subversion of constitutional safeguards can lead to disenfranchisement of citizens, Kharge cited alleged irregularities in the recent Maharashtra elections as an example of the wider dangers to democracy. “The Maharashtra government was formed through deceit,” he alleged, adding that the BJP is trying the same sort of trick in Bihar.
Kharge took on Modi for not visiting Manipur, where ethnic clashes have forced the displacement of thousands of people and thrown life out of gear since May 2023. “Rahul Gandhi can go to Manipur, but Modi hasn’t gone there,” he said, pointing out that hundreds of homes were destroyed, schools were shut and children weren’t able to attend school in the state. “The prime minister tours the entire world, but he does not have that courage nor the will to visit Manipur amid the suffering,” Kharge said, accusing Modi of seeking global appreciation instead of solving domestic problems.
In a pithy sarcastic barb, Kharge derided Modi’s high-flying diplomacy, saying that there he was in Pakistan, dropping in uninvited in 2015 to meet its leaders, but there he was in Manipur; he had no time for its concern. “He is interested in only getting awards and garlands outside as his own people are in pain,” Kharge added. He claimed that the prime minister did not demonstrate any empathy for the Indian citizens and was obsessed with being recognised.
Kharge also accused the BJP of snatching power in Maharashtra by manipulating millions of votes and warned that the party is doing the same in elections in Bihar. “If this goes on, democracy won’t last,” he said, appealing to voters to turn away from those eroding India’s democratic institutions. He insisted that the Constitution had been instrumental in providing reservations to Dalits, tribals and other backward people in the society, and destroying it would mean the loss of such privileges.
Referring to Odisha, Kharge alleged that the BJP-ruled state had not been able to shield the weaker sections. He mentioned two recent cases of Dalits who were allegedly beaten, humiliated, served polluted water and made to crawl with their elbows in their mouths. “This is the reality of the BJP’s regime,” he added, blaming the government for its failure to act. Kharge promised that the Congress would “agitate peacefully” to fight for the rights of toiling masses, including those for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, and the minority community. “If you don’t fight for the rights, you won’t get the rights,” he told the crowd, calling for resistance in the face of fear and repression.
Kharge’s comments highlight Congress’s approach to try and take the position of a protector of constitutional values and marginalised communities and to step up its attack on the BJP’s style of governance in the run-up to state elections. The rise in Odisha reflects the party’s strategy to garner public support on the basis of democracy, social justice, and regional crises.