BJP staging drama on Emergency to hide governance failures: Kharge

An undeclared emergency prevails in the country, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced on Wednesday, accusing the BJP of staging a Samvidhan (Constitution) Hatya Diwas "drama" to hide failures in its governance.

"Those (BJP-RSS) people who are talking of Samvidhan bachao (save the Constitution) are now raking up the Emergency after 50 years. It was something people had forgotten and they are now raking it up," he said.

Addressing a press conference at Congress headquarters Indira Bhawan in Delhi along with Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, K.C. Venugopal and Pawan Khera, Kharge condemned the BJP-RSS and said those who "played no role in the independence of the country, in framing the Constitution, and burned Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution" are raking up the Emergency, 50 years after it was imposed. The same people are now talking of saving the Constitution, he added.

Kharge hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said today, the Constitution is in danger precisely because of the BJP and PM Modi. "We have been taking out the 'Samvidhan Bachao Yatra' for one year, and the BJP is scared of that."

He also alleged that the Modi government has failed not only in governance but also in the matter of inflation, unemployment, corruption, demonetisation and recovering black money.

अगर आज हमारा संविधान संकट में है, तो वह नरेंद्र मोदी की वजह से है। नरेंद्र मोदी देश को बर्बाद कर रहे हैं।

जब भी कोई व्यक्ति देशहित में बात करता है तो वो नरेंद्र मोदी को बर्दाश्त नहीं होता है। आखिर Freedom of expression और Freedom of movement कहां है?

• कोई छात्र देशहित में बात… pic.twitter.com/2Zkskob82w

— Congress (@INCIndia) June 25, 2025

When Indira Gandhi donated Rs 90,000 for JP’s treatment during the Emergency

Kharge said at present, the Election Commission of India has become a puppet, and refuses to heed Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's concerns over suspicious voter numbers in the Maharashtra assembly elections of November 2024.

The Congress president also targeted PM Modi over the statement by US President Donald Donald Trump and said that the one who has many vices now also wants to become a hero.

"Trump repeatedly said he had separated India and Pakistan and stopped a war between the two countries," Kharge said, referring to the hostilities between India and Pakistan last month following the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack, which India has claimed was engineered by Pakistan-based terror outfits.

ट्रंप ने कहा कि मैंने हिंदुस्तान और पाकिस्तान के बीच वॉर रुकवाई।

लेकिन..

नरेंद्र मोदी के मुंह से एक शब्द नहीं निकला। ट्रंप ने ये बात 1-2 बार नहीं 17 बार बोली... तब भी मोदी चुप रहे।

नरेंद्र मोदी ट्रंप से डरते हैं, लेकिन 'विश्वगुरू' बनना चाहते हैं।

एक तरफ ट्रंप, नरेंद्र मोदी… pic.twitter.com/AlpTNoaHLo

— Congress (@INCIndia) June 25, 2025

Modi’s ‘silence’ on Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza diminished India’s moral: Congress

"But not a single word came out of Narendra Modi's mouth. Trump said this not one-two times but 17 times, and even then Modi remained silent. Narendra Modi is afraid of Trump, but wants to become a 'Vishwaguru'. On the one hand, Trump scares Narendra Modi and on the other, Modi goes to campaign for Trump and says 'abki baar Trump sarkar'. So the one who has so many flaws, now wants to become a hero."

In yet another potshot at Modi, Kharge said, "In the past, prime ministers would hold press conferences where they'd face questions from journalists. However, Narendra Modi only grants interviews to a select few, with pre-approved questions and answers."

Kharge also said economic inequalities have widened to such an extent that they cannot be bridged. "You have brought in an undeclared emergency," the Congress president said.

The remembrance of the 1975 Emergency is nothing but a reflection of the BJP's own guilt. India has been witnessing an 'undeclared emergency' for the last 11 years.

The Congress party for the last four months has constantly and extensively been carrying out the Samvidhan Bachao… pic.twitter.com/bwwc4XKyRC

— Congress (@INCIndia) June 25, 2025

Earlier, in a scathing attack on the Modi government, the Congress alleged that over the past 11 years, Indian democracy has been under a "systematic and dangerous" five-fold assault that can be best described as 'Undeclared Emergency@11'.

With the BJP in all-out attack mode on the 50th anniversary of the imposition of the Emergency in 1975 by the Indira Gandhi government, the Congress launched a counter-offensive and alleged that the government was weakening Parliament and eroding the autonomy of Constitutional bodies

The Congress' counter offensive came after the prime minister said no Indian would ever forget the manner in which the spirit of the Constitution was violated during the Emergency and affirmed his government's commitment to strengthening constitutional principles. In a series of X posts, Modi said it was one of the darkest chapters in India's democratic history.

With PTI inputs