NEW DELHI, June 25: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of distorting history and diverting attention from pressing national issues such as inflation, unemployment, and national security.

Speaking in Delhi on Tuesday, Kharge said, “PM Modi wants to observe the 50th anniversary of the Emergency as ‘Constitution Murder Day.’ The irony is, those who had no role in India’s freedom struggle or in drafting the Constitution are now preaching about its sanctity.”

Kharge alleged that the same groups now invoking constitutional values once “burned copies of it at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan and set effigies of Ambedkar, Nehru, and Mahatma Gandhi on fire.”

Referring to the Congress party’s year-long “Save the Constitution” campaign, Kharge claimed that it has shaken the BJP, particularly due to its traction among the youth. “They’re raising the Emergency issue now—after fifty years—only to distract people because they have no answers on inflation, unemployment, or corruption. This is political theatre to cover up their failures and lies,” he asserted.

Kharge emphasized, “Yes, there was an Emergency—but it ended. What’s happening now is worse. It’s a systematic erosion of democratic freedoms.” He noted that during the Emergency, Indira Gandhi had supported constitutional amendments by Morarji Desai, contrasting it with what he called the current government’s authoritarian tendencies.

Accusing the Prime Minister of indulging in “drama,” Kharge stated, “Rahul Gandhi’s outreach has sparked a wave of hope among the youth. That’s why Modi is staging all this drama—to crush that momentum.”

He further lambasted PM Modi for his silence on critical issues, notably the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and the ongoing crisis in Manipur. “We demanded a special Parliament session to discuss the Pahalgam attack. He refused. He didn’t even attend the all-party meeting and instead chose to campaign in Bihar. This shows how disconnected he is from the country’s pain,” Kharge said.

Addressing the situation in Manipur, he asked, “Manipur is burning, but the Prime Minister hasn’t bothered to visit. Are the people of Manipur not citizens of this country?”

Kharge also questioned the credibility of Modi’s global image. “You call yourself Vishwaguru(global leader), but cannot solve internal problems. Trump has said at least ten times that he resolved the India–Pakistan issue, yet Modi remains silent. What kind of Vishwaguru is afraid to respond?”