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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its claims regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure, accusing the ruling party of "twisting and distorting history" and creating a "new and ridiculous category".
In a post on X, Kharge wrote, "Twisting and distorting history does not change the truth." He asserted that India's longest-serving Prime Minister was Jawaharlal Nehru and that Indira Gandhi had the second-longest tenure, questioning recent BJP claims highlighting Modi's record in office. "India's longest-serving Prime Minister was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. He was also the one who served the longest continuously as Prime Minister. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister with the second-longest tenure. Now, the BJP has to invent a new and ridiculous category to prove who is the longest continuously serving Prime Minister after general elections in independent India," said Kharge. The Congress president also invoked key figures from India's early post-Independence governments. He said, "Remind the country of this as well--In whose cabinet was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel the Deputy Prime Minister? In whose cabinet was Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar the Law Minister? Up to whose cabinet did Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee serve as a Minister?" Kharge alleged that the past 12 years had been marked by "sloganeering" and claimed that citizens had been burdened by inflation, unemployment and corruption. "In 12 years, the Modi government has done nothing but sloganeering, and has trapped the country's people in a web of inflation, unemployment, and corruption," he asserted. He further accused the government of failing to deliver on a range of promises and initiatives, including employment generation, farmers' income growth, economic targets and governance reforms. According to Kharge, the government had delivered "only propaganda, failure, and betrayal of the people" across multiple sectors. "15 lakh, 2 crore jobs every year, doubling farmers' income, $5 trillion economy, Make in India, Skill India, Startup India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Digital India, bullet train by 2023, Smart City, Jal Jeevan Mission, Namami Gange, Swachh Bharat, PM Kisan, Ujjwala, Ayushman Bharat, Mudra Loan, Ease of Doing Business, foreign investment, GST, demonetization, Agnipath, housing scheme, education policy, corruption-free India, inflation control, reducing unemployment, MSME protection, health system, COVID management, migrant labor crisis, social harmony, federal structure, credibility of institutions, environmental protection, pollution control, and illegal infiltration--on every front, only propaganda, failure, and betrayal of the people," Kharge stated. "Now, in the name of achievements, all this government has left is Event Management and Manufactured Narratives," Kharge added. The remarks came as the Prime Minister completed 4,399 days in office. India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, originally assumed office in 1947 and won the country's first general election in 1951-52. He remained in office until his passing in 1964. Meanwhile, Indira Gandhi, India's first woman Prime Minister, served for a little less than 16 years, but her tenure was spread across two separate stints. In a statement acknowledging the occasion, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) extended its warm congratulations to Prime Minister Modi as he achieved a historic milestone - becoming India's longest-serving democratically elected Prime Minister in consecutive terms. (ANI)
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