Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge speaks to media. File.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The past 11 years of the Narendra Modi government has dealt a deep blow to the country’s social fabric, democracy and economy, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Monday (June 9, 2025).

In a post on X, Mr. Kharge alleged, “The Modi government has wasted the last 11 years in smearing the ink of dictatorship on every page of the Constitution”.

“The BJP-RSS has weakened every constitutional institution and attacked their autonomy,“ he added.

The Congress chief accused the Modi government of “stealing people’s mandate, toppling governments through the back door, imposing one-party dictatorship and weakening the federal structure”.

“Efforts are constantly being made to spread an environment of hatred, threats and fear,” he added.

Mr. Kharge said the exploitation of Dalits, tribals, backwards, minority and weaker sections has increased continuously, Manipur is witnessing unending violence, and the BJP-RSS has made it a habit to keep the country’s GDP growth rate at 5-6% from the average of 8% growth.

Growing inequality, unemployment, inflation had been the fallout of wrong policies such as demonetisation, wrong GST and unplanned lockdown that affected the unorganised sector, the Congress chief said..

He added that programmes like Make in India, Startup India, Stand up India, Digital India, Namami Gange, and 100 SMART cities had all failed.

“Railways have been ruined. Only the ribbons of the infrastructure painstakingly built by the Congress-UPA have been cut,” Mr. Kharge claimed.

Senior leader Rahul Gandhi pointed out how several people lost their lives in an overcrowded local train in Mumbai when the government was busy celebrating its third term.

“11 years of Modi government = no accountability, no change, only propaganda. The government has stopped talking about 2025 and is now selling dreams of 2047,” Mr. Gandhi said in a post on X.

Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn’t hold press conferences.

“Celebrating 11 years but still the Prime Minister remains ‘nau do gyarah’ from an unscripted and pre-scheduled press conference. Bharat Mandapam is waiting for him,” Mr. Ramesh said, using a Hindi idiom.

At a press conference, Rajeev Gowda, who heads the party’s research wing, along with spokesperson Mahima Singh, released two booklets, countering the government claims of its achievements.

“The one thing this government has been good at is propaganda and fake news. They are number one in that. It is our job as a responsible Opposition to make sure that the people of India know the grim reality,” Mr. Gowda said.