Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi government, alleging that its policies have damaged India’s global reputation by weakening the country’s passport standing, increasing passport fees, failing to revive foreign tourist arrivals to pre-pandemic levels and neglecting visa services.
In a post on social media platform X, Kharge contrasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2018 remarks about the growing strength of the Indian passport with the current reality he described. “Modi Govt’s policies are responsible for hurting India’s global reputation,” he said.
Recalling the Prime Minister’s earlier statement, the Congress leader wrote, “PM Modi claimed in 2018: ‘People travelling and living abroad know the respect and strength of the Indian passport today.’ Where is that ‘strength’ reflected? Facts bely his assertions.”
The Congress chief cited international passport rankings to support his criticism, claiming that India’s position had slipped in recent years.
“In one global passport ranking, India has fallen from 74th in 2013 to 80th in June 2026,” he said, referring to data cited from the World Economic Forum. He also claimed that another global passport index had placed India at “a dismal 125th” in 2026.
Kharge also accused the government of increasing the financial burden on citizens seeking passport services.
“Instead of improving services, the Modi Govt has made passports more expensive. Passport fees have been hiked from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500, while Tatkal charges have gone up to Rs 5,000,” he alleged.
Turning to the tourism sector, the Congress president said foreign tourist arrivals had not yet recovered to pre-Covid levels.
“Even with respect to the ease of travelling to India, Foreign Tourist Arrivals are still below pre-COVID levels: They have dropped from 10.93 million (2019) to 9.95 million (2024). Is the Modi Govt masking this failure by clubbing NRI arrivals with foreign tourist data?” he asked.
Kharge also criticised the government’s online visa application system, alleging that it had failed to keep pace with India’s technological capabilities.
“Why is India’s official visa application portal still so outdated and confusing that it resembles a website from the late 1990s? No one in India, the land of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’, wants to welcome the tourists like this?” he wrote.
Questioning the government’s claims of enhancing India’s international standing, Kharge said, “If the passport is weaker, tourism has not recovered, visa services are lacklustre and citizens are paying more for substandard services, then where exactly is this much-advertised global respect?”
“Reality bites. India’s reputation suffers. Courtesy: Modi Govt!” he added.
The BJP had not immediately responded to Kharge’s allegations. The Congress has repeatedly targeted the Centre over issues relating to India’s global image, passport rankings, tourism and public service delivery, while the government has maintained that India’s international stature and diplomatic influence have grown significantly over the past decade.