Kharge Slams Modi Over '11 Big Lies' in 11 Years

Kalaburagi:Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge tore into Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of resorting to "11 big lies in 11 years" and failing to deliver on key promises made to the people. From jobs and black money to fuel prices and farmers' welfare, Kharge said Modi’s assurances had turned into empty rhetoric.

Addressing a gathering at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Kalyana Patha project, Kharge listed what he described as Modi’s major unfulfilled promises in the last 11 years of rule.

“I am only listing the big 11 lies in the last 11 years,” Kharge said.

“He had assured to bring black money and deposit Rs 15 lakh in every citizen's account. Did it happen? Modi had assured two crore jobs annually but failed to deliver,” Kharge said.

He expressed shock over youth continuing to support Modi for reasons he said were unclear—whether due to caste, religion, or other factors.

Kharge also criticized the rising petrol and diesel prices, reminding people that Modi had promised to bring them down, but instead, they had only increased.

“Modi said that River Ganga would be cleaned by 2022. He mentioned that the "Make in India" initiative was supposed to generate 10 crore manufacturing jobs by 2022, yet there were no visible results. He had also promised to provide every Indian with a permanent house by 2022, but not even half of the target had been met. Similarly, the Prime Minister had vowed to double farmers’ income. None of these have materialized,” he said.

Bringing up demonetization, Kharge recalled that Modi had assured people that black money would be eradicated, but the move only hurt the poor. He also pointed to the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, which Modi had promised would be operational by 2022, yet even by 2025, less than half the work was completed. He criticized the PM-Kisan scheme, stating that farmers had not received the benefits they were promised. Finally, he slammed Modi’s failure to bring back and punish rich defaulters who fled the country after taking massive bank loans.

"These are not small lies; these are 11 big lies in 11 years. There are many more—on railways, national highways, and various projects," Kharge said.

He emphasized that leaders should not lie to the people, as broken promises would eventually be remembered. He contrasted himself with Modi, saying he had contested 12 elections but never made false promises, only vowing to do what was realistically possible. He credited his honesty for his rise to the position of AICC President.

Kharge also stressed the need for development in education and healthcare in the Kalyana Karnataka region and urged MPs and MLAs to prioritize these sectors.

“Under the Kalyana Patha project, 1,166 km of roads would be developed across 38 rural constituencies,” he said.

Kharge praised Minister Priyank Kharge for pushing the Pragati Patha and Kalyana Patha projects, which he said would improve infrastructure in the region. He also lauded Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for presenting 16 state budgets, calling them well-planned and financially sound, and commended Deputy CM DK Shivakumar for his contributions as a minister and KPCC president.

Demanding better road connectivity from Bidar, Kalaburagi, and Ballari to Bengaluru, Kharge revealed that he had personally spoken to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari about the issue. He urged the state government to acquire land for the proposed highways. He also accused the BJP-led Central Government of withholding funds for MGNREGA, saying that even schemes named after Mahatma Gandhi were being neglected.