Kharge calls Nitish Kumar mentally retired

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 24, Sep 2025, 16:43 pm IST | UPDATED: 24, Sep 2025, 16:43 pm IST

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused the Bhaatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “mentally retiring” Chief Minister nitish kumar branding him a “liability.” Kharge said the upcoming assembly polls would mark the beginning of the end for the Modi government’s “corrupt rule” at the Centre.

Kharge launched an attack on the BJP and the Election Commission over alleged “vote chori” and manipulation of electoral rolls through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). He said that the extended Congress Working Committee meeting was held in Bihar, the “mother of democracy” to reaffirm the party’s commitment to protecting democracy and the Constitution.

Kharge recalled the historic introduction of the Constituent Assembly proposal 85 years ago at Ramgarh and praised the founding leaders who ensured the right to “one person, one vote.” He warned that today’s democracy is threatened by questions around the fairness and transparency of the Election Commission itself.

He hit out at the Modi-led government for the economic slowdown, rising unemployment, and increasing social divisions. He pointed out that the promise of creating two crore jobs remains unfulfilled, youth are struggling without work, and policies like demonetisation and GST have disrupted the economy. Making an apparent reference to US President Donald Trump’s recent actions Kharge said, “Our problems at the international level are the result of the diplomatic failure of Narendra Modi and his government. The very friends whom the prime minister boasts about as ‘my friends’ are today putting India in numerous troubles.”

Kharge describes BJP's ‘double-engine’ claim as hollow

Kharge lamented Bihar’s poor economic performance under the BJP-led NDA government, which returned to power in January 2024 with Nitish Kumar. He described the “double engine” claim as hollow, citing a lack of special Central government packages for Bihar.

He said Bihar’s high unemployment rate (over 15%), mass youth migration, and recruitment scams leading to protests and police crackdowns. Kharge claimed internal tensions within the NDA alliance are visible, with the BJP considering Nitish Kumar a liability and “mentally retiring” him. He asserted that the Bihar elections in 2025 will be a landmark event, signaling the decline of Modi’s governance.