Kharge: Numbers May be Small but Spine is Straight

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, on the 140th foundation day of the party on Sunday, asserted that the Congress is an ideology and ideologies never die. Among other senior party leaders, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi also attended the function at the party headquarters in the national capital. "The Congress is not just a political party but the voice of India's soul that has stood with every weak, deprived and hard-working person," Mr Gandhi said.

Addressing party leaders and workers at the Indira Bhawan headquarters of the party, Mr Kharge said, "India has become the world's largest democracy due to the great leaders of the Congress."

"Today, on foundation day, I want to clearly say one thing to those who say 'the Congress is finished'. I want to tell them that our power may be less, but our spine is still straight. We have not compromised, not with the Constitution, not with secularism and not with the rights of the poor. We may not be in power, but we will not bargain," the Congress president added.

Noting that the Congress has never asked for votes in the name of religion, Mr Kharge asserted that the party has never spread hatred in the name of temple-mosque.

"The Congress unites. The BJP divides. The Congress kept religion as faith only. But some people turned religion into politics. Today, the BJP has power, but they do not have the truth. Therefore, sometimes data is hidden, sometimes the census is stopped and sometimes talks of changing the Constitution happen," Mr Kharge said.

The Congress president said the year 2026 is the 200th anniversary of Dadabhai Naoroji, the centenary year of Sarojini Naidu becoming the Congress president and also the centenary of the song Jhanda Uucha Rahe Hamara', which was sung for the first time at the Kanpur Congress Session in December 1925.

Noting that around the time of India's Independence, many nations gained freedom, the Congress president pointed out that some countries failed, while in others, dictatorship prevailed.

"Only India is such a country where democracy is vibrant. It is due to the great leaders of the Congress that India has become the world's largest democracy," Mr Kharge claimed.

Mr Gandhi hailed the Congress as the voice of India's soul. "The Congress is not just a political party but the voice of India's soul that has stood with every weak, deprived and hard-working person," he said.

In a post on X, Mr Gandhi said, "The resolve is to fight even more strongly the battle for truth, courage, and to protect the Constitution against hatred, injustice, and dictatorship."

"Heartiest greetings to every Congressman on the foundation day of the Indian National Congress today. We pay homage to that historic legacy and those great sacrifices that won freedom for India, laid the foundation of the Constitution, and strengthened the values of democracy, secularism, social justice, and equality," Mr Gandhi added.