New Delhi, April 16 -- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday hit out at the government after the ED chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, saying the "despotic" government is hell-bent on targeting the Congress to whitewash its own "sins".
Kharge also asserted that the Congress shall not be cowed down and will keep raising its voice to expose the government's failures.
"Your despotic Sarkar is hell-bent on targeting the Congress, to whitewash its own sins. BJP's economic mismanagement is spiralling out of control. Desperation is gathering steam. No vision, No solution, only diversion!" he said, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kharge went on to list what he claimed were facts that paint a "sordid saga of BJP's massive failures".
The Congress chief said the trade deficit was at a three-year high with no clarity on tariffs and trade war. "Only empty words and fruitless visits," he said.
Citing the RBI consumer confidence survey of March 2025, the Congress president said 90 per cent of consumers reported that commodity prices had gone up and as a result, over 80 per cent stated their spending increased, even though incomes didn't rise.
Revenue growth of FMCG firms slowed to just 5 per cent in FY25, with margin growth staying flat, he said.
Kharge accused the government of indulging in "fuel loot" and said the Modi government collected a whopping Rs 39 lakh crore as taxes/duties on petrol, diesel and fuel till December 2024.
LPG prices have been raised by Rs 50, giving no respite even for the economically weaker sections, he said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.