India, April 9 -- Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governance and policies, saying he calls himself backward for political benefits but refuses to conduct a caste census to help backward people, and stokes communal tensions.

"Modi ignites the fire and [ruling Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP's ideological fount] RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] pours petrol on it," he said in his inaugural speech at the Congress's central decision-making All India Congress Committee (AICC) session in Ahmedabad.

Kharge called the passage of the contentious Waqf law for sweeping changes in regulating and managing Islamic charitable endowments a ploy for communal tensions. "There is a continuous attack ...