Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused the BJP-led NDA government of targeting the Congress party to whitewash its own sins.
The statement of the Congress chief came a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a chargesheet against its top leaders – Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi – in connection with the National Herald case. In an apparent reference to the chargesheet filed in the National Herald case, Kharge said, “Narendra Modi ji, your despotic sarkar (government) is hell-bent on targeting the Congress to whitewash its own sins.”
Claiming that BJP’s economic mismanagement is spiralling out of control, he said, “Desperation is gathering steam. No vision, no solution, only diversion.”
The Congress chief questioned the BJP government on various issues including trade deficit, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and unemployment.
In a post on X, Kharge wrote, “Five latest facts paint a sordid saga of BJP’s massive failures. Trade Deficit: 3 year high. No clarity on Tariffs and Trade War. Only empty words and fruitless visits. Consumption: 90 per cent of consumers reported that commodity prices had gone up. As a result, over 80 per cent said their spending increased, even though incomes didn’t rise. Revenue growth of FMCG firms slows to just five per cent in FY25, with margin growth staying flat.”
Accusing the government of fuel loot, he claimed that the Modi government collected a whopping Rs 39 lakh crore as taxes/duties on petrol, diesel and fuel (till December 2024).
The Congress chief said that LPG prices have been raised by Rs 50 with no respite even for the economically weaker sections.
On the unemployment front, he said the graduate unemployment rate is 13 per cent and youth unemployment rate is 10.2 per cent. “22 out of the 23 IITs and 23 of the 25 IIITs witnessed a drop in the placement, and NITs witnessed 11 per cent drop in placements,” he added.
Asserting that the FDI plunge is hurting India, he pointed out that the FDI from April to January 2024–25 was just under USD 1.4 billion, as against USD 19 billion from April to January 2012–13. “People will not forgive the BJP for ruining the Indian Economy. We shall not be cowed down. We will keep raising our voices and exposing your failures,” Kharge asserted.