Congress chief Kharge skips Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort

Mallikarjun Kharge at AICC headquarters - ANI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge gave the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort a miss on August 15, with a chair bearing his name lying vacant as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the 17th-century monument.

The Congress leader, who hoisted the flag at the party headquarters in the heart of New Delhi, greeted the country through a recorded message.

The Congress leader said he had some eye issues. “I had to hoist the Tricolour at my residence at 9.20 am as per protocols. Then I had to come to the Congress office and hoist the Tricolour here too. So, I could not have reached here.

“The security is so tight that they don't let anyone else leave before the PM leaves...I thought that I would not be able to reach here on time...I thought it better to not go there because of the security situation and lack of time,” he said.

In his recorded message, Kharge termed democracy and the constitution as the soul of India. “Some people make it look like the country developed in the past few years but that is not true. When the British left the country, the situation was such that not even a needle used to be made in the country. Then Pandit Nehru took major initiatives, set up steel plants, made dams, established institutions like IIT, IIM, AIIMS. Indira Gandhi-Lal Bahadur Shashtri brought in the green revolution, made India self-reliant," Kharge said.

He said great people do not obliterate past history, they create their own. “Those who are repeating name-change issues themselves changed the names of existing schemes," Kharge said in a not-so subtle jibe at the government.

The Congress chief ended his message saying the Congress party would “establish justice, fight and raise its voice” wherever there is injustice.

However, the BJP did not miss the opportunity to take a dig at Kharge. "Sources were saying Kharge ji was unwell hence couldn’t come for #IndependenceDay program but I’m glad he recovered immediately and started giving speech at AICC HQ where he was able to do flag hoisting," said BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on X formerly known as Twitter.

Addressing the country, Modi urged the people to fight three evils — corruption, dynastic politics and appeasement, which the ruling BJP has often targeted the Congress with.  For India to grow, it will have to overcome these three hurdles, the PM said, promising to continue his fight against corruption.

Senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who recently returned as an MP after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a defamation case, too, weren’t seen at the Red Fort.