16-10-2023 : Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Indian National Congress, made a significant political assertion during an awareness campaign for the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) in Baran district. Kharge stated that if the Congress party manages to retain its government in the state of Rajasthan, it will also ascend to power at the national level in the 2024 general elections.
During his address, Kharge referenced recent speeches by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which Modi mentioned a “red diary” containing records of financial irregularities by the Rajasthan government led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. According to Kharge, this diary predicts that the Congress will regain control of the Rajasthan government after the upcoming assembly polls.
Kharge went on to emphasize that if the Congress succeeds in forming the government in Rajasthan, this victory will pave the way for the party to assume power at the central level in the 2024 elections.
He also pointed out that despite the people of Rajasthan electing 25 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Members of Parliament in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP government failed to deliver funds and water resources to the state.
Regarding the Congress party’s demand for a nationwide caste census, Kharge responded to accusations made by Prime Minister Modi, who accused the Congress of attempting to divide the population through such an exercise. Kharge criticized the BJP for what he deemed a habit of dividing people along religious and caste lines.