‘Strengthen unity’: Mallikarjun Kharge’s recipe for INDIA bloc

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday called on Opposition parties to deepen their unity and jointly confront what he described as the political, economic, social and foreign policy failures of the Narendra Modi government.

Addressing a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders in New Delhi, Kharge said the opposition must build on its recent show of unity in Parliament and prepare a coordinated response to a range of issues facing the country.

"Now we must strengthen that same spirit even further and move forward, so that we can confront the many political, economic, social and foreign policy challenges facing the country due to the Modi government's misgovernance," Kharge said.

Referring to the opposition's coordinated stand in the Lok Sabha earlier this year, he added, "On 17 April 2026, we demonstrated our unity and solidarity in a very decisive manner when we came together firmly to defeat the Modi government's malicious bills on delimitation."

The Congress chief alleged that constitutional institutions were under strain and accused the Centre of using investigative agencies to target political opponents.

"The assault on the Constitution continues unabated. Investigative agencies are being persistently used as tools to harass, intimidate and bully political opponents," he said.

Kharge also criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that it was depriving millions of citizens of their voting rights.

"The voting rights of millions of people are being stripped away," he claimed.

Turning to the economy, Kharge argued that the investment climate remained weak and that job creation was failing to keep pace with the aspirations of young Indians.

"The economic environment is extremely negative and new investments are not coming at the pace required to generate jobs," he said.

He further alleged that private monopolies were expanding across sectors while micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) faced mounting challenges.

The Congress president also targeted the government's handling of examinations and recruitment processes, claiming that repeated irregularities had damaged the prospects of lakhs of students and job aspirants.

"Due to the complete mismanagement of the examination system, the hopes and aspirations of lakhs of youth are being betrayed," he said.

Kharge additionally accused the government of failing to protect weaker sections of society and claimed that India's traditional foreign policy principles had been compromised.

The INDIA bloc meeting brought together leaders of several opposition parties as they discussed political strategy, parliamentary coordination and key national issues ahead of the upcoming political calendar.

Kharge and other opposition leaders are expected to address the media following the conclusion of the meeting.

With PTI inputs