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‘Good days’ proved to be a nightmare: Opposition targets govt

The BJP reacted accusing the Congress of having ‘misused Article 356’ to topple democratically elected governments

Published on: May 27, 2025 8:38 AM IST
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The opposition Congress on Monday said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government has turned “grand promises” into “hollow claims” as the Bharatiya Janata Party marked 11 years in power with Modi addressing a grand event in Ahmedabad.

Mallikarjun Kharge (PTI)
Mallikarjun Kharge (PTI)

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the BJP has imposed an “undeclared emergency”. The BJP reacted accusing the Congress of having “misused Article 356” to topple democratically elected governments.

Modi took oath as the Prime Minister in his first term on May 26, 2014, after a decade long rule of the United Progressive Alliance led by the Congress.

Marking the occasion on Monday, PM Modi said, “The people of Gujarat placed their faith in me first, and then the entire nation joined hands. Since then, I have carried that responsibility with full dedication. We have taken decisions that were once unimaginable and unprecedented... today, India stands transformed, moving forward boldly in every sector.”

However, soon after PM’s speech, Kharge wrote a series of posts on X.

“In 11 years, the Modi government turned grand “promises” into hollow “claims”, leading the country to such ruin that the talk of “good days” has now proven to be like a “terrifying nightmare”,” Kharge said, as he went on to list several allegations of “crores [of jobs] vanished”, farmers facing “rubber bullets”, women’s “safety in tatters”, “atrocities on SC/ST/OBC/Minorities”, inflation, “soured relations with every country”, and destruction of autonomy of institutions.

“Every section of 140 crore people distressed… in 11 years, such has been the mark of the lotus !!” Kharge said, taking a dig at the BJP’s election symbol.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “Today is May 26, 2025. The unannounced emergency at 11 is today.”

Hitting back, Union minister Pralhad Joshi said, “Isn’t is deeply ironic that a party dominated by a single family is now speaking about democracy and freedom of speech?”

“This is the same Congress party that has misused Article 356 over a hundred times to topple democratically elected governments across the country,” he said. The BJP leader said that the Congress “declared a national Emergency for personal and political gain”.

“And now, they are targeting and attempting to arrest journalists and news anchors who express views critical of the party,” Joshi said.

The Trinamool Congress, a key member of the opposition INDIA bloc at the Centre, said in a post on X, “Every promise broken, every truth silenced. 11 years of one-man show and all-India suffering.”

TMC’s Lok Sabha MP Saugata Roy said: “I don’t have any special observation to make on Modi’s 11th year as Prime Minister. Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister for 17 years and Indira Gandhi, for 15 years. I haven’t seen Narendra Modi achieving anything great during his tenure.”

Former minister and BJP leader Anurag Thakur, meanwhile, called it “remarkable day marked by the rise of a visionary and powerful leadership, a day that changed the course and narrative of India.”

“From being counted among the ‘Fragile Five’ to emerging as one of the top four economies of the world, your remarkable statesmanship has instilled in the nation a deep sense of confidence, pride, and determination. This decade has been one of India rediscovering itself, redefining its aspirations, and reimagining its role on the global stage,” Thakur said.

  • Saubhadra Chatterji
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Saubhadra Chatterji

    Saubhadra Chatterji is Deputy Political Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on both politics and policies.

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