Cong Chief Kharge Against ‘Personality Cult,’ Bets On ‘Dialogue’

Congress president Kharge said that even funds provided for natural disasters are given on the basis of which political party is in power in a specific state. Recently, in West Bengal, funds for ration shops were 'held up' as outlets did not have pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 'supreme leader' (Image: PTI)

On Friday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge underlined the warning by Dr B.R. Ambedkar against the ‘cult of personality’ and appealed for a political culture based on ‘reason and dialogue’.

Khrage’s address — to the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi’s ‘Democracy Will Win’ conference — was read out by Su Thirunavukkarasar (Congress Lok Sabha MP) after the VCK announced by 9.30 pm that the grand old party’s top leader could not take part in the meet.

Be it in politics or religion, Ambedkar foresaw the dangers of blind devotion, the Congress chief was quoted as saying. He added that the architect of the Constitution warned against he cult of personality and emphasised the need for “rational thinking and a commitment to justice in our political discourse”.

Kharge said, “Today, as we navigate a nation, where personality often overshades principles, let us follow Ambedkar’s words and strive for a political culture based on reason, dialogue and inclusivity.”

The Congress president made these remarks in his address after slamming the BJP regime on various counts where he outlined the strain and the challenges on the federal structure.

Kharge hit out at the ‘politicised allocation of disaster relief’ and in his address — that was read out — said that in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, despite various demands and representations, the Union government has not provided any support to the two southern Indian states.

While Tamil Nadu battled heavy rains and deluge, Karnataka faced severe drought conditions.

Kharge added that even funds provided for natural disasters are given on the basis of which political party is in power in a specific state. Recently, in West Bengal, funds for ration shops were ‘held up’ as outlets did not have pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ‘supreme leader’.

Meanwhile, the Congress president recently took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his announcement of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana’, a government scheme under which 1 crore households were reportedly supposed to get rooftop solar power systems.

Posting on X, Kharge had said, “Pradhan Mantri ji’s JUMLAS soar to the Sun! Yesterday, PM announced a fresh target of installing rooftop solar for 1 crore houses.” The Congress chief claimed, “The ground reality is that not even 10 lakh houses got rooftop solar installations in the past 10 years of BJP rule.”

Kharge wrote further on X, “”Earlier, Modi government made a false promise of installing 40 GW of rooftop solar capacity by 2022. The status check of Modi government’s grand announcements is the following :– 70% of that target of 40 GW remains unfulfilled. Out of that, only 2.2 GW are installed in homes,”

The Congress president said further, “Energy generated from residences was only 1/5th of the installed capacity. After its grand failure, Modi government changed the target to be completed by 2026, without ANY new funding in the scheme.”

He added, “Election Season = BJP’s Jumla Season!”

Prime Minister Modi had said that the scheme would not only reduce electricity bills of the poor and the middle class, but also make India self-reliant in the energy sector. According to information available on the website of the ministry of new and renewable energy, solar power installed capacity in India has reached around 73.31 GW as of December 2023. Meanwhile, as of December 2023, rooftop solar installed capacity is around 11.08 GW.