‘Dubious record’: Congress on Narendra Modi’s new milestone

The Indian National Congress (INC) on Wednesday dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi becoming India’s longest continuously serving elected prime minister, calling it a “self-proclaimed and dubiously invented” milestone and accusing him of weakening democratic institutions.

The sharp attack came shortly after Modi surpassed the record of Jawaharlal Nehru, crossing 4,399 days in office as an elected prime minister — the longest uninterrupted tenure by any elected PM in India’s history.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh dismissed the significance of the milestone and alleged that Modi had become a “millstone around India’s neck”.

“He may have passed a self-proclaimed and dubiously invented milestone today, but he is a millstone around India's neck, presiding as he is over the Murder of Democracy in India,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

The Congress leader argued that while the BJP was celebrating Modi’s record, the government was simultaneously attempting to erase Nehru’s contribution to nation-building.

He highlighted the period between 1947 and 1952, saying it laid the foundations of modern India through the integration of over 560 princely states, adoption of the Constitution, abolition of zamindari, implementation of reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and the creation of key scientific and technological institutions.

“The 1947-52 record of achievements of India with Nehru as PM... is now sought to be erased by Mr Modi, who has a pathological fixation on Nehru,” Ramesh alleged.

Congress also used the occasion to renew its criticism of the Modi government, claiming democratic institutions had weakened during the past decade. Ramesh alleged that the independence of the Election Commission, the integrity of electoral rolls and the country's scientific temper had come under strain, while reservations had been diluted through privatisation and other measures.

He further contrasted Modi’s political mandate with Nehru’s electoral record, noting that Nehru won successive general elections in 1952, 1957 and 1962 with decisive majorities. Modi, he argued, returned to power in 2024 only with the support of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies after the BJP fell short of a majority on its own.

Despite the Congress criticism, Modi’s milestone marks a significant moment in Indian political history. Having first taken office on 26 May, 2014, he won re-election in 2019 and secured a third consecutive term in June 2024, becoming the first prime minister since Nehru to achieve three straight electoral victories.

With PTI inputs