Staff Reporter / New Delhi
As India marks the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Emergency, a period of profound political upheaval, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge today launched a blistering attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kharge accused the ruling party of cynically exploiting the historical event to deflect from its own alleged failures and systematic undermining of the Indian Constitution, painting a grim picture of what he termed an “undeclared emergency” gripping the nation.
As the BJP observed ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ to mark the 1975 Emergency declared by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Kharge dismissed the move as a politically motivated stunt. At a press conference in the national capital, he alleged that PM Modi’s renewed interest in the Emergency was an attempt to deflect from the real emergencies India faces today — unemployment, inflation, crony capitalism, and democratic backsliding.
“PM Modi is repeatedly invoking a past that the country has moved on from. This isn’t about memory or history. This is a smokescreen to cover up the failures of his own government,” Kharge said. He claimed that the BJP was rattled by the Congress’s Samvidhan Bachao Yatra, a campaign led by Rahul Gandhi to safeguard constitutional values.
Kharge drew a stark contrast between the BJP’s current rhetoric and its historical record, accusing it of hypocrisy. “Those who never contributed to the freedom struggle or the framing of the Constitution are now pretending to defend it. RSS members once burned pictures of Ambedkar, Nehru, and Gandhi in Delhi. Today, they wear constitutional language as a disguise,” he charged.
Taking aim at the Modi government’s record, Kharge described the current situation as an “undeclared emergency.” He pointed to soaring unemployment, persistent inflation, and increasing concentration of wealth among a few corporate houses. “India’s public assets have been handed over to a select few. The poor are worse off, while the rich are thriving under this regime,” he said.
Kharge also criticised Modi’s handling of national security and regional unrest. He expressed concern over the Prime Minister’s silence on the ongoing violence in Manipur and accused him of ignoring the Opposition’s calls for an all-party meeting following a recent terror attack in Pahalgam. “While the country bleeds, the PM is busy campaigning in Bihar,” he remarked.
Further, Kharge raised alarms about the state of media freedom, judicial independence, and electoral integrity. “Dissenters are labelled anti-national. Journalists are jailed. The Prime Minister never answers questions from the press. Only select journalists with pre-approved questions are allowed in,” he said.
The Congress chief also questioned the credibility of the Election Commission, alleging voter list manipulation in Maharashtra. “In all my 13 elections, I’ve never seen 7.5 million new voters added between state and general elections. The machines, not the people, are electing the BJP,” Kharge claimed.
He ended by accusing the BJP of eroding India’s federal structure. “BJP-ruled states get special treatment. Governors are now political agents obstructing legislation in Opposition-ruled states. Even the Supreme Court had to step in,” he said, calling it a coordinated assault on India’s democracy.
As the political row over the Emergency’s legacy intensifies, Kharge’s fiery remarks have set the stage for renewed clashes between the ruling BJP and a resurgent Opposition ahead of crucial state polls.