‘Bhagidari and Sajhedari’: the Congress Party’s Vision

Our aim is to ensure that the fundamental rights of people are secure and that the institutions hold people in power accountable to the people of the country: Mallikarjun Kharge

Extracts of the speech of Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Shri Mallikarjun Kharge addresses the 85th Plenary Session of the Indian National Congress at Nava Raipur (Chhattisgarh) on February 25, 2023

… I heartily welcome you all to the 85th Plenary Session of the Indian National Congress.

First of all, I thank all the PCC delegates of our Congress Party in the country. You all elected me, believed in me and gave me a chance to lead the Congress of the country. The trust that the Congressmen have invested in me is the earning of my lifetime. I assure that I will protect the values of Congress till my last breath, and we will face every formidable challenge facing the country by making every sacrifice.

Many of you friends are familiar with my path in life. It is only in the Congress that an ordinary person, who was once the President of the Block Congress Committee, today gets elected as the President of the Indian National Congress. This is the biggest proof of democracy for the Congress. Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Shri Rahul Gandhi and my PCC delegates and all the members of our working committee have blessed me. So that’s why, today, I got a chance to become AICC President from Block Congress Committee.

Friends, I am also very emotional today because I and all of you are representing the glorious heritage of the Congress Party, which has been nurtured by Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Smt. Sarojini Naidu, Indira ji, Rajiv ji, with their sacrifice and dedication. I am sure that we will continue to follow the path shown by them.

Today, I would also like to thank Shri Rahul Gandhi ji that this love and gratitude is not only from the Congressmen, but also from every Indian who has innumerable hopes for the future. Amidst the atmosphere of hatred spread across the country and the shattered hopes of the countrymen, when it seemed that the forces of darkness were to prevail, Shri Rahul Gandhi brought hope by igniting a new torch of struggle.

‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is the new dawn of the rising sun of the country’s hopes, whose light has spread from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, and now in every corner of the country. Rahul ji, you have realized the impossible. You yourself endured hardships, neither cared about storm, nor rain, nor heat, nor cold, nor dust storm, nor snow storm. Crores of people holding the tricolour of India walked with you and joined in the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. And we have proved yet again that Congress is the ‘Soul of India’. Congress knows the pain of India. Our heart aches at the sufferings of every countryman. Especially Rahul Gandhi ji, by walking 3,570 kilometers, you and the Congressmen have proved that every drop of your blood beams with the spirit of the tradition of sacrifice and the love for one’s country. I thank Rahul Ji for this work of his. He should keep guiding us in this way, keep connecting and the encouragement that all the youth have received will be visible in the future as well. Secondly, I would like to remind you all that the ‘Father of the Nation’, Mahatma Gandhi, had become the President of the Congress in 1924 at the Belgaum Plenary Session in my home state of Karnataka, about 100 years ago. Gandhi ji made farmers and laborers from villages and countryside stand with the Congress for freedom, gave them a new direction, changed the nature of Congress in Belgaum and there was a major change in the Congress Constitution. Gandhi ji linked Congress with the farmers, laborers, poor and downtrodden of India. The working of the Congress was decentralized and a lot of work was done. It was from here that the Congress emerged as a mass movement and the entire nation stood with the Congress. For the first time in Belgaum itself, the Congress officially included the struggle against untouchability and caste discrimination in its agenda. These ideas later became the basis of the constitutional guarantee of equal rights for the deprived classes. That’s why I am remembering Mahatma Gandhi, because he became Congress President only once, that too from Karnataka, and by passing a resolution to eradicate untouchability there, he propagated the same idea in the entire country. That’s why I remember him at this time.

Today, the country is passing through the most difficult challenges in 75 years. The people in power have been attacking the rights of the people of the country and the values of India. That is why, there is a need to start a new movement today. Every Congressman, every countryman will have to step forward, stand up, take a resolution and say:

Seva, Sangharsh or balidaan, Sabsepahle Hindustan.

This is going to be our slogan and the country needs service, struggle and sacrifice today because India is passing through its most difficult phase. Today, the BJP is breaking the rights of the dignity of all for the selfishness of its power - from Parliament to all the constitutional institutions. The future of the youth is being pushed into darkness due to the horrendous unemployment. The budget of the public’s household has deteriorated due to the back-breaking inflation. Demonetisation and wrong GST have ruined small businesses and MSMEs. By not giving the due prices of their crop, the income of the farmers has been destroyed. The atmosphere of hatred has spoiled the social atmosphere of the country and not only this, ED, CBI, Income Tax, elected governments are being toppled by all the agencies and here I would like to say that the BJP government raided this plenary session, arrested our people, but still our Chief Minister and the Congress workers here made it a success by fighting back strongly. This is a huge strength for the Congress. In this way, we should also learn to fight, we should also learn to compete. If you sit back crying, you will not get anything... It seems that a heinous conspiracy is being hatched to break the democracy of the country. Together we all have to run a ‘Movement to Unite the Country’ against this conspiracy to hammer it down. This is the duty of the Congress.

On one hand, there is the culture of breaking, and on the other hand, the deep rift between the rich and the poor is being created by today’s government and its rulers. It seems that there is no place for the middle-class, Dalits, tribals, backward, minorities, farmers and job seekers in the eyes of the country’s government.

First of all, there was demonetisation - the historical stupidity - then they shut down small-scale industries and more than two crore people lost their jobs. Wrongly made and even more wrongly implemented GST destroyed the work of small-scale industries and traders.

During Corona at midnight, at only 4 hours’ notice, crores of laborers were forced to wander from door-to-door. No medicine was found, no doctor, no injection, no oxygen, even the last rites were not received. On one hand, 12 crore people lost their jobs, while on the other, another 23-crore people were pushed below the poverty line. ‘Ganga Maiya’ was bursting with thousands of dead bodies while the people sitting in power in Delhi were patting themselves on the back for having done a lot of work during Covid.

Today, the situation is such that the poor and the middle-class are struggling hard. Inflation has ruined both the budget and the household and the wealth of a handful of rich friends has increased so much so that they have become the second richest in the world. I wonder at what kind of crossroads our country stands today, where the daily income of ‘Annadata’ (the farmer) is 27 rupees and the income of a friend of the Prime Minister is 1000 crore rupees per day. 72% i.e. 3/4thof the country’s MSMEs could not earn even a single penny and the wealth of a friend of the Prime Minister increased 13 times i.e. 1,300% and I do not understand that the ‘Pradhan Sevak’ of Delhi, who gets himself published in advertisements every day, is serving his friends. And on top of that, they are handing over every property of the country built in 70 years to their friends, one-by-one. They are selling everything - Rail, BHEL, SAIL, Tel (Oil). All the things of the country are being sold-probably even the skies, the earth and under!

Crores of people of my country wonder whether our LIC and State Bank of India will be able to survive or not or whether they will sell it too - this is a big question before us today, and this government is selling one-by-one everything that we had created. Between this economic gap, the country has been pushed into the terrible gap of social discrimination. The rights of the poor, laborers, Dalits, tribals and backward people are being openly bulldozed by the higher echelons (the ones in power). How pitiable is the condition of the country can be gauged from the fact that on one hand, 115 poor laborers are forced to commit suicide everyday, while on the other hand, the people sitting in power in Delhi reduced the MGNREGA budget by Rs. 30 thousand crores. The budget which was of Rs. 69 thousand crores and in which the work for 100 days was meant to be given, today this budget is reduced by Rs. 30 thousand crores. So, this is his work towards the poor. That’s why we must warn this government, we should fight unitedly, because 1 lakh 75 thousand crore rupees are needed under today’s minimum wages for 100 days of work. Our friends from Dalit, tribal, backward and minority sections of the country are today forced to fight for self-respect and security. Perhaps that’s why even after repeated incidents like those of Hathras, Unnao, Una, the souls of the rulers are not troubled.

Atrocities on Dalits have increased by 13 percent from the year 2015 till date. Atrocities on tribals have increased by 21 percent and all these figures are lost somewhere in closed books. No one thinks, no one listens, no one takes any action. They deliver grand speeches to give strength to the poor, they talk more about the backward to garner votes, but they forget that hundreds of public sector units, which you are selling to your friends, also have reservation jobs for lakhs of poor people. And others, who are OBCs, Economically Weaker Sections are also losing their jobs today. They talk a lot about them - but SC, ST, minority pre-matric scholarship is completely abolished. Is the government of the country so drained of money that it cannot give scholarships to the children of the poor from class 1 to class 8? Even if there is something left for the poor, that too is selectively attacked. Perhaps, that is why, this year the government sitting in Delhi cut Rs. 90,000 crores from food security. The law made by Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji, Manmohan Singh ji for the poor people to feed them, they have reduced it by 90,000 crores. It is up to you to think how this government is being run and we have to fight against it.

I think many a times about how many poor will starve under this BJP government and how many of their friends will be fed. I am least hesitant saying that the very DNA of the people sitting in the government of Delhi is anti-poor. That’s how I feel. It is in their DNA to work against the poor, that’s why they are doing so.

On one hand, there is the attack on the institutions of the country, the people of the country, the poor of the country, and on the other hand, there is the BJP government kneeling before the illegal occupation by China on the land of ‘Mother India’. No matter what our political differences are, we are united for the security of India. We stand with the forces of India, but on one hand, there is the bravery of our forces and on the other, there is the failure of the government. They reiterate forcefully that the Congress is against the armed forces, against the country. To give freedom to the country, to save this country, we made the Constitution, protected it and we are fighting for democracy even today but you are talking about ending democracy. They are talking about ending the unity of the country and China has entered there...but our Prime Minister says, “Nothing of that sort has happened.”

The Foreign Minister says the same. She even said that she did not know their sorrow or pain. She also pulled out the previous record - I did this, I did that, do this after me. Understand, that you are a minister. Forgetting that because of her personal reasons, she is saying that the Congress government did this, didn’t promote my father or my father from there... A government cannot say these things. You are in the government, but these people give new colour to everything.

I ask a direct question - China has been forcibly occupying our land from April 2020 till today - Why did the Prime Minister give a clean chit to China? The Prime Minister denies any such invasion of China, but then his Foreign Minister says that we cannot fight with China because it is a bigger economy than us. I say it once again that the Prime Minister says that no one has entered into our territory, but then his Foreign Minister says that we cannot fight with China because it is a bigger economy than us. So, these are your failures as well and you say no one has entered our territory. When in reality, China is building a bridge, building a road, building a house, but you are not even looking in that direction and on the other hand, the 56-inch chest will be considered of substance only when you - the BJP government frees our land from China to restore April 2020 situation. Only then we will come to accept that you have 56-inch chest, otherwise, it will be duly assumed that it’s worthless.

Only Congress can fight all these challenges before the country. In 2023, in 2024 our agenda is clear. We will also struggle on the issues of the country, will also make sacrifices and will try our best to establish a prosperous state. Between 2004 and 2014, many like-minded parties came with us in the UPA alliance. Under the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh ji and Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji, their government was a very successful government for 10 years, which used to run, keeping the Common Minimum Programme in front. Today, the same alliance needs to be strengthened further. We are ready to take all these parties with us who are ready to fight against BJP-RSS. But it is also a fact that false allegations were levelled against our government as part of a huge conspiracy. Many types of logic were involved in this. They defamed an honest Prime Minister and a government of public interest, but today all the things, the truth has revealed itself to the public and everyone knows it.

Our aim is to create crores of new jobs through MSMEs. Our aim is to curb inflation and whether it is gas cylinder, petrol-diesel, edible oil, flour, pulses, rice or everyday things... we will provide them at affordable prices. Our aim is to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich. Laborers and the poor should be respected, social justice should be the government’s religion and everyone should get a chance for livelihood.

Our aim is to ensure that not only the ‘Annadata’ of the country should get the price of the crop, but also the person who feeds the country should never have to go empty stomach. Our aim is to dispel the clouds of hatred hovering over the country today and spread love in every corner of the country. The poor, tribals, minorities should live life with their heads held high and they should get equal opportunities.

Our aim is to ensure the accountability of the people sitting in the constitutional institutions of the country. Also, to protect the rights of the people and do our duty without any hindrance. Our aim is to ensure that the governments of the country should be elected and changed by the votes of the people, not by the threats of ED, CBI, Income Tax using money power. This is the roadmap for our future - we will welcome a new partnership between the public and the government. That’s why I say, “Deshkeliye ek sath, deshkeliyehar ek hath; hath se hath jodo, aaobharatjodo.” I conclude my speech with a few lines of a poem by a great Hindi poet and I will mention one thing that we said in the Parliament later.

“Leharon se ladkarnaukapaarnahihoti, Koshishkarnevaalo ki kabhihaarnahihoti. Dubkiyaansindhumeingotakhorlagaatahai, Jakarkhaali hath lautkaraatahai. Miltenahisahaj hi motigeharaypaanimein, Badhtadugnautsaahisihairaanimein. Muthhiuskikhaaliharbaarnahihoti, Koshishkarnevaalo ki kabhihaarnahihoti.”

So, friends, we will keep on trying, we will keep on fighting, but I have to put one thing in front of you -there was a short poem of mine, I had said it in my speech in Rajya Sabha, and they had deemed it unparliamentary. Whatever we are saying inside - I read what a writer, a poet had written - but I got the punishment that more than half of the poetry was cut-short. I repeat it in a few words-

“Nazarnahi hain, nazaaron ki baatkarte hain, Zameen par chaandsitaaron ki baatkarte hain. Vo hath jodkarbasti ko lootne vale, Bharisabhameinsudhaaron ki baatkarte hain. Bada haseenhaiunkizubaan ka jaadu, Lagakaraagbahaaron ki baatkarte hain. Milikamaan to atkinazarkhazaane par, Nadisukhaakarkinaaron ki baatkarte hain. Vahigareebbanaate hain aam logon ko, Vahinaseebkemaaron ki baatkarte hain.”

Now, tell me what is so unparliamentary in this? Which words cannot be spoken in the Parliament, do let me know. So, they deleted this entire poetry. It doesn’t matter much to us because we will read it in public, public will listen to it.

I will briefly speak in English now. I will conclude my speech in two minutes. I now wish to briefly speak in English, give a gist of the main points made in my speech for the sake of people, who are not fully conversant in Hindi. Firstly, I would like to thank all the PCC delegates, who elected me as the President of the Congress Party. I once again thank them for this election. On this occasion, on behalf of crores of our workers, I would also like to express my gratitude towards Smt. Sonia Gandhi, who led the Party as the Congress President for more than 22 years. I would also congratulate former President Shri Rahul Gandhi, who took it upon himself to unite the country through his historical ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ united the country and brought people from all walks of life together. Not only that, it also emerged as a strong voice against the unprecedented challenges that we face today, such challenges include continuing assault on the constitutional values and democracy and social fabric of our country, issues of National Security on the border with China, the prevailing atmosphere of hatred and fear, all-time high inflation, record unemployment and increasing economic inequality.

In the prevailing difficult circumstances, Indian National Congress is the only Party in the country that can provide capable and decisive leadership to the country. From 2014, our alliance with like-minded parties served the people of the country effectively and we once again look forward to forging a viable alternative by aligning with like-minded parties to defeat the anti-people, undemocratic BJP government.

We are ready to strive for the welfare of the people of our country and whatever sacrifices that are required, our goal for upcoming state elections and Lok Sabha election 2024 is clear. Our aim is to generate employment for crores of people through MSMEs. Our aim is to control the inflation and rising prices of essential commodities. Our aim is to bridge the huge gap between the rich and the poor. Our aim is to ensure that farmers of the country get a fair price for their produce. Our aim is to get rid of the prevailing atmosphere of hatred & fear and spread harmony amongst the people.

Our aim is to ensure the betterment of the lives of the poor, tribals, minorities and other neglected sections and marginalized sections of the society. Our aim is to ensure that the fundamental rights of people are secure and that the institutions hold people in power accountable to the people of the country. Our aim is to stop the use of money power, muscle power and the increasing trend of misuse of central agencies like CBI, ED etc. in toppling democratically elected governments.

This is the Congress Party’s vision, ‘Bhagidari and Sajhedari’, that is participation and partnership of all in the country’s development. I call upon all the delegates to actively participate in the discussion on issues concerning themes including political, economic affairs, international affairs, social justice, agriculture and farmers’ welfare, youth education and unemployment. This should ensure that a clear and inspiring message is sent out to the people of our country.

With this, I end my speech and I thank you all for coming once again. I also thank the host government and I, once again thank all the people, who cooperated with this Plenary Session.

Jai Hind! Jai Congress!