Extracts of the Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge’s speech on the occasion of 78th Independence Day at AICC Headquarters in New Delhi on August 15, 2024.

My dear countrymen, I extend my heartiest congratulations to all of you on the 78th Independence Day. Countless Indians had sacrificed their lives in the freedom movement. Countless national heroes like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Maulana Azad, Rajendra Prasad, Sarojini Naidu and Baba Saheb Ambedkar played a historic role in the creation of a ‘New India’.

Our tricolour, fluttering proudly, reminds us of the sacrifices of countless warriors and patriots, who happily got themselves hanged or became victims of the bullets of British soldiers. Some people today propagate that independence was achieved quite easily, but the reality is that millions of people left their homes and kept wandering; even people from affluent families spent a large part of their lives in jails for freedom.

Instead of remembering the contribution of the revolutionaries and following their vision, today's rulers are promoting divisive thinking. They celebrate ‘Partition Horrors Day’ only with the intention of spreading hatred. Those who did not participate in the freedom movement give advice to the Congress. It is a historical truth that their hate-filled politics divided the country into two parts. This partition happened because of them. There is no dearth of evidence of how the Sangh Parivar has deliberately carried forward the British conspiracy thinking of divide-and-rule for their own selfish interests.

Since 2022, the Modi government has been running the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan’. We are happy that after six decades, they thought of doing penance and realized their mistake. Earlier, they were reluctant to even hoist the tricolour on their offices and today they are teaching the lesson of ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’, but the truth is that the people of our country have been celebrating 'Har Dil Tiranga' and 'Har Hath Tiranga' for the last 100 years. If this country is united from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Kutch to Kohima, it is because of the unity and passion of 140 crore people. People across the world have seen that passion and the pride of the tricolour during Rahul Ji's ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. Today, the people of the country need employment in every house and justice in every house. Congress wants social justice, economic justice and political justice. This country wants freedom from economic inequality and unemployment. These issues cannot be dodged for eternity. The more the delay, the more complex the problems will become.

This is the 11th year of the Modi government, but the lives of the people are getting worse instead of getting better. The common people are grappling with unemployment, inflation, inequality and corruption. The government is refusing to read the writing on the wall due to its arrogance. Pandit Nehru ji had said, “Where freedom is menaced or justice is threatened, or where aggression take place, we cannot be and shall not be neutral”. This is what Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said. That is why whenever the time comes, we should come forward to save our country and there is no need to sit neutral... he had given this warning.

Congress workers should remain among the people with basic issues, listen to their problems and tell them that the wind of change has started to blow in the country. People are looking at the opposition leader Rahul Gandhi with new hope and expectation, because ever since he has done ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, a new kind of enthusiasm can be seen in the country; the results of which have been achieved by the Congress in the 2024 elections. Congress is committed to the progress and betterment of the people of this country. The priority of Congress is for the poor, Dalits, tribals, women, farmers, people of weaker sections, youth and the middle class. Congress will ensure that this country moves forward on the path of progress again and Congress workers and people take an equal part in it and take the country forward.