Congress wants to protect idea of India, not interested in PM’s post: Kharge

He was addressing the second meeting of the Opposition parties as part of an attempt to forge a common platform to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 national elections

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said his party is not interested in the Prime Minister’s chair but in protecting the idea of India, the Constitution, secularism, and democracy.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and DK Shivakumar. (PTI)

Addressing the second meeting of the Opposition parties as part of an attempt to forge a common platform to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 national elections, Kharge said there are differences among them at the state level. He added the differences can be put aside for the sake of protecting the people.

“Our intention is not to assume power for ourselves. It is to protect our Constitution, democracy, secularism, and social justice,” he said at the beginning of the meeting. “At the state level, there are some differences between us. But these differences are not so big that we can’t overcome them for the benefit of common people who are suffering inflation. We can set aside our differences for the youth who are suffering from unemployment and for the poor, the Dalit, tribals, and the minorities whose rights are being crushed.”

Kharge said the 26 parties attending the meeting have substantial political strength as they govern 11 states. He underlined the importance of alliances. “The BJP did not get 303 seats [in 2019 polls] by itself. It used the votes of its allies and came to power and then discarded them,” he said. “Today, the BJP President and their leaders are running from state to state to patch up with their old allies.”