New Delhi [India]: Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Monday criticized the Modi government, highlighting that India’s average GDP growth has declined to 5.8% from 7.8% during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. He questioned how job creation would be possible if economic growth remained sluggish.
Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, Kharge questioned whether the nation was experiencing “Amrit Kaal” or “Vish Kaal,” claiming that over one lakh farmers had died by suicide in the past decade.
“Is this ‘Amrit Kaal’ or ‘Vish Kaal’? In the last 10 years, 1,00,000 farmers have committed suicide. They have not progressed. Neither did they get MSP nor did their income double,” he stated.
The Congress leader also expressed condolences over the loss of lives in the Maha Kumbh stampede, alleging a lack of transparency from the government regarding the details of the incident. He demanded an official report on the number of casualties.
“I want to speak over the stampede in Maha Kumbh 2025 … So many people lost their lives… I said a thousand people died there (at Maha Kumbh stampede), if you say that I am wrong, then at least give the exact report of the number of deaths that took place there,” Kharge said.
Additionally, he criticized the government for the depreciation of the Indian rupee against the US dollar.
“In 2013, when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat and the UPA government was in power at the Centre, he used to say, ‘Rupee is in ICU’ and has taken a downward dive. Today, the rupee is on a ventilator; it has crossed 87,” he remarked.
Following his statements, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked Kharge to substantiate his claim regarding the number of deaths in the Kumbh stampede by the end of the day’s proceedings.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also challenged Kharge’s statement regarding farmer suicides, urging him to provide evidence to support his claims. Kharge defended his remarks, stating that official figures from the government were not forthcoming.