Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent speech on Independence Day from the Red Fort has opened yet another temperature-regulating phase of Indian political discourse.
Mr. Kharge heavily criticized Modi’s eulogies for the RSS by making the point at a rally in Sasaram, Bihar, that the prime minister was demeaning the values of the freedom struggle.
RSS and Freedom Struggle Debate
Mr. Kharge’s tirade against Modi was on account of his mentioning the RSS, which Modi is alleged to have distanced from India’s independence movement. In Kharge’s view, praising such groups from the Red Fort is an insult to those who sacrificed their lives for India’s freedom.
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He, however, went on to allege that the members of the RSS had at one point sought favors from the colonial rulers rather than resisting them; this charge has been a litany in Congress charge-sheet against the BJP and its ideological forebear.
Democracy, Constitution and People’s Rights
Kharge made a very strong statement by saying that as long as the BJP came to power, the Constitution and democratic rights would remain in danger. He eventually went on to state that this challenge is not simply an electoral competition, but a fight to protect India’s democratic spirit.
#WATCH | Sasaram, Bihar | On PM Narendra Modi, Rajya Sabha LoP and Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge says, “He is a very dangerous man. Unless you remove him from power, your votes, rights, freedom, and even the Constitution will not remain safe.” pic.twitter.com/E853va4jUp
— ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2025
According to Kharge, if Modi continues, neither votes, nor freedoms, nor the Constitution will remain protected, arguing the spirit of freedom fighters, whose souls would definitely have been betrayed by Modi’s utterances.
Allegations of Theft and Misgovernance
Kharge further sharpened his rhetoric by accusing Modi of stealing, whether from citizens in terms of votes, or from youths in employment opportunities, or from farmers in their right to Minimum Support Price (MSP).
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Kharge labeled Modi as a “dangerous man” and even “a thief,” calling for the collective uprising against what he called the authoritarian nature of the present regime.
Opposition’s Larger Strategy
Kharge’s speech reflects the Opposition’s wider strategy to question the BJP’s historical narrative, while at the same time linking present governance issues like unemployment, agrarian distress, and electoral integrity, to the ideological foundations of the party. By framing the battle in terms of defending the constitutional democracy, Kharge is trying to rally not just party Faithfuls, but also wider sections of citizens concern about civil liberties.
A High-Stakes Political Clash
The clash between Modi’s narrative of pride and progress, and Kharge’s warning of danger to and erosion of freedoms, marks yet another defining moment in the democratic evolution of India.
As political temperatures rise, voters are faced with the question: Will they stand with Modi’s vision of a strong nation, or Kharge’s call to “save democracy” from what he describes to be creeping authoritarianism?
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