Opposition leaders sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleging that he violated the Model Code of Conduct by using official machinery to attack political opponents ahead of the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot dared Mr. Modi to seek a fresh mandate following the recent developments, escalating the political confrontation over the Centre’s legislative agenda and its timing.
Opposition likely to write to PM to immediately implement women’s reservation without delimitation
In a strongly worded post on X, Mr. Kharge accused the Prime Minister of turning an official address into a partisan speech. He said Mr. Modi, “with nothing meaningful to show for the last 12 years”, resorted to “mudslinging and outright lies” despite the Model Code of Conduct being in force. Calling it a “travesty of democracy”, he alleged that Mr. Modi misused official machinery to target the Opposition, particularly the Congress.
“Modiji mentioned Congress 59 times and women barely few times. That tells the country everything about his priorities. Women are not the BJP’s priority,” Mr. Kharge said in his post.
