Hyderabad (Telangana): Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge on January 25, 2024, advised Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his MLAs not to lower their guard as the BJP was now raring to use the investigative agencies to intimidate them. He was addressing a conference of the polling-booth-level Telangana Congress workers at the LB Stadium in Hyderabad. The Congress President said: “The BJP leaders are very dangerous. They will use the CBI, ED, and income-tax (I-T) agencies to create fear psychosis. But I am sure no Telangana leader would be cowed down by such threats as they are basically fighters.” The Congress leader, praising the Revanth Reddy government, said that it was stronger than earlier Congress governments, and yet it should be very circumspect about the designs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Lashing out at former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, he said that the BRS Chief was never the BJP’s rival. “He always used to support the BJP,” said Kharge Ji, urging Party workers should bear in mind that the Congress single-handedly brought down the two parties in the state. “We will trounce both the parties in Telangana in the ensuing elections to Lok Sabha as well,” he said. Shri Kharge also appealed to them to work hard at the booth level as victory in an election was scripted at that level. He said that the Congress came to power in Telangana because of the polling-booth-level agents’ efforts, and that they should show their strength once again in the Lok Sabha elections. He said that he expected Telangana results to repeat all over the country in the Lok Sabha polls, and said it was possible if the booth-level agents worked hard. He asserted that the Congress would deliver on all its six guarantees to the people in the state. The Congress President said that Modi had given a go-by to the country’s Constitution and the democratic principles on which the nation was built. He took a swipe at Narendra Modi for not inviting LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi for the consecration of Ram Lalla idol at Ayodhya, implying that the Prime Minister did not care even for the leaders of his own party.

“The BJP has been claiming that God is with it, but God is everywhere and in every household,” he said. Meanwhile, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy took on the BRS for repeatedly saying that the Congress was faltering in implementing the six guarantees. He reminded the BRS that had told the people that he would implement them within his first 100 days of governance. “It has not even been 50 days now. Why the hurry?” he asked.

Uttarakhand

Keep religion and politics separate: Shri Kharge Dehradun (Uttarakhand): Religion is a matter of personal faith, Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge says, adding that when it is mixed with politics, it becomes hard to choose between right and wrong; attacks ‘Agniveer’ scheme, says it’s no solution to unemployment. Opening the Congress’ Lok Sabha campaign in Uttarakhand on January 28, 2024, Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge told workers at a convention in Dehradun that religion and politics should be kept separate. He also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that he was trying to be the eleventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. “Every time you switch on TV, Modi is seen holding forth,” he said.

Maintaining that religion was a matter of personal faith, he said that everybody believed in God and had faith in him. Religion and politics must be kept separate, he said, accusing Mr. Modi of trying to mix the two. When things get mixed up, it becomes difficult to make a choice between the right and the wrong, he added. He also attacked the government for the ‘Agniveer’ scheme. “They promised jobs, instead they gave the ‘Agniveer’ scheme. After the four year tenure, the young men are left on the streets without employment,” he said. He also accused the Modi government of squeezing reservations in the appointment of university teaching staff. Questioning the BJP’s claims of nationalism and patriotism, Shri Kharge challenged the party leaders to name a single sacrifice any of its party leaders had made during the freedom struggle or after the country became independent. While the BJP’s forebears would take employment with the British, he said, Congress leaders and workers like Pandit Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi went to jail.

He pointed out that Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had also sacrificed their lives to safeguard the unity and integrity of the country. “And you have the audacity to teach us patriotism and nationalism,” the Congress President asserted.

Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge on January 28, 2024, launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party asserting that the BJP made every effort to stop the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Assam adding that we are not afraid of them.

He said that Rahul Gandhi had taken out ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, but such an incident did not happen anywhere, as has happened in BJP-ruled

Assam

“Ever since our ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ started, BJP has made every effort to stop and scare it. ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ was stopped in Assam, stones were thrown at vehicles, and posters were torn. But we are not afraid,” Shri Mallikarjun Kharge said addressing the Workers’ Convention in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Bhubaneswar (Odisha)

Shri Mallikarjun Kharge warns of ‘last election’ if Narendra Modi becomes PM again Bhubaneswar: Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge on January 29, 2024, predicted that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will turn out to be the last election ever in India if Narendra Modi retains power. Addressing a gathering of Congress workers in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar, Shri Kharge claimed PM Modi will declare a dictatorship after this year’s general elections.

“If Modi comes to power after the Lok Sabha polls, there will be dictatorship; no democracy and no elections,” Kharge Ji was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. He claimed that the 2024 general elections will be the last chance for the people of the country to vote. He also warned the Party workers against the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS, calling them “poison”. “Rahul Gandhi wants to unite the country, he said, he has opened ‘mohabbat ki dukaan’. But the BJP and RSS have opened ‘nafrat ki dukaan’. It is because of this that you need to remain alert. BJP and RSS are poison, they are depriving us of our rights,” Kharge Ji said. He also took potshots at BJD Chief and Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik over his “friendship” with PM Modi. “What did Navin Patnaik gain from his friendship with Narendra Modi? The double engine fails at times. And when the double engine doesn’t work properly, the first engine also fails,” he said.

BJD often sides with the BJP in the parliament.

Talking about Nitish Kumar’s exit from the INDIA bloc, he said that one person quitting the alliance won’t impact electoral outcomes. “One person quitting Mahagathbandhan will not weaken us; we will defeat BJP,” he said. Nitish Kumar on January 28, 2024, exited the INDIA bloc and formed a government in Bihar in alliance with the BJP. The Janata Dal (United) blamed the Congress for the fiasco, saying the party tried to steal the INDIA bloc’s leadership. It also accused the Congress of making Mamata Banerjee propose Kharge Ji’s name as the Prime Ministerial face of the alliance.

Delhi

Congress national prez Mallikarjun Kharge blows poll bugle in East Delhi, exhorts workers to hit the streets Rallying Party workers ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge February 3, 2024, urged them to come out on the streets and fight against the high-handedness of the Modi government.

He was addressing a Party Workers’ Convention organised by the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee at East Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, a venue that, Congress leaders said, held special significance. It was among the preferred locations in the Capital for former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who, in the late 1970s, had sprung back to power at the Centre after one such rally at the Maidan.

Congress President also reminded the 25,000-strong crowd of the development that Delhi had witnessed during the three consecutive tenures of former Congress Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. “The roads, infrastructure, flyovers that you see in Delhi, who has built those?” Shri Kharge asked. He also took a dig at the BJP-led Centre over inflation and questioned the fulfilment of the promised creation of 2 crore yearly jobs by the Prime Minister. “The price of cylinders was Rs. 450 during our tenure, it now costs Rs. 1,100. It’s for the citizens to decide if the PM’s guarantee is still to be believed.” He added, “(There are) nearly 30 lakh government vacancies… Why are these not being filled by Modi? Because if permissions are given to fill these vacancies, then the underprivileged SC/STs will get these vacancies.”

Kharge Ji alleged that Modi does not want that: “He claims to believe in ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’, but he only practices ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Satyanaash’.” Talking about Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Nyay Jodo Yatra’, he said he was the only leader in the country trying to remove hatred spread in the society by the BJP. “Whom is he walking for? It’s for the citizens, it’s for the country, it’s for our democracy, for our Constitution, this is a fight to save India… if we fail this fight, then we will soon turn into… slaves…”

Talking about the INDIA bloc, he said that the Congress has made every effort to ensure the alliance and appealed to workers to form teams at the booth-level. People from all across the country reside in Delhi, if we win Delhi then we can win the whole country, he added. Also at the rally were Delhi Congress Chief Arvinder Singh Lovely, ex-AICC General Secretary Deepak Babaria, Congress leader Ajay Maken and ex-MLA Mukesh Sharma. Speaking to workers, Lovely Ji said, “The Geeta Colony maidan is of historic significance; multiple Congress stalwarts, including Indira Gandhi, addressed gatherings here and experienced victory.”

Kerala

Modi govt undermining federalism by weakening political autonomy of states: Shri Mallikarjun Kharge Thrissur: Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge on February 4, 2024, accused the BJP-led Union government of undermining the principles of federalism by attempting to weaken the political autonomy of states and intervening in their governance.

The Congress President was addressing a mass rally ‘Mahajana Sabha’, organised by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in Thrissur, virtually kick-starting the Party’s Lok Sabha election campaign in the state.

“The Modi government is not only harassing the state governments but is also crushing the poor people and women of the country. The Centre’s intervention in state governance and autonomous bodies, including interference by governors and attempts to reduce the political autonomy of states, undermines the principles of federalism,” said Shri Kharge.

Shri Kharge began his address by laying down the good deeds done by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He said the public sector institutes started by the Nehru government employed millions. “Nehru envisioned an economy in which the private and public sectors work together. Backwards and Dalit communities have been able to come forward through employment. However, today, the Modi government is pampering the private sector.”

“Other sectors have been left to die a natural death. The government has the responsibility to bring back the public sector if it becomes weak. But Modi is busy destroying the public sector and strengthening the private sector. A few private capitalists are being pampered. Inflation is increasing day-by-day,” he said, adding that the Modi government’s policies have affected minorities and women most.

Kharge Ji said atrocities against women and marginalised groups have risen many folds under the Modi government. “For example, the country records 51 cases of crimes against women every hour in the country. However, the Centre protects those accused of crimes against women, SC/ST and other weaker sections,” he said referring to the protests by the women grapplers against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President and Kaiserganj BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of sexual harassment.

“The incidents of rapes and violence in Manipur have left the country ashamed. Even after nine months of ongoing violence in Manipur, the BJP government has been an utter failure in defusing the situation and re-establishing an atmosphere of peace and stability in the north eastern state. The PM has time to tour the entire country, address election rallies and give speeches every other day. He has all the time in the world for politics, but no time for Manipur. He even has time for vacation in Lakshadweep and to get pictures clicked, but he does not have time for the people, women and children of Manipur. It is clear that Manipur is not Modi’s concern,” he quipped. “At a time when the BJP workers visit homes requesting votes, one must remember that all democratic institutions are being systematically weakened. Agencies like ED, CBI and Income tax are made weapons to target opposition leaders on false and baseless charges. People are being appointed to various high-profile posts, not based on merit, but based on their closeness with RSS and BJP. We must identify these threats to protect the values of democracy, justice and inclusivity,” reminded Shri Kharge. He concluded the address by saying: “The people of Kerala have always stood for principles, the rights of the poor, democracy and the Constitution. Therefore we have high hopes that if we win Kerala, we will win India.”

Representatives from 25,177 booths across the state, reportedly, attended the meeting. The KPCC organised the Mahajana Sabha to strengthen the Party from the booth level. The meeting was presided over by KPCC President K Sudhakaran and attended by AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan, AICC General Secretary in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi and other senior leaders.