Never back down in a fight. If you back down, you’re finished. Don’t be afraid, let anything come your way- Shri Mallikarjun Kharge

Highlights of Congress President & Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Shri Mallikarjun Kharge’s address at the ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod! Mega Rally’ at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on December 14, 2025.

All the leaders present on this stage, and all our brothers and sisters, young friends, and youth who have gathered here... I don’t want to raise too many issues before you, I just want to say that it is our collective responsibility to strengthen the fight that Rahul Gandhi is waging for this country and its people. That is what I have come here to request of you.

If you don’t strengthen these ideas, consider it your loss, the country’s loss; they won’t suffer any loss. If you want to save the country, if you want to protect your votes, if you want to safeguard your rights, if you want to preserve this Constitution, then you can work for yourselves. Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and now Priyanka Gandhi are all working to advance our work and our ideas. So, it becomes our responsibility to unite and strengthen their ideas, and at the same time, move forward with the ideology of the Congress Party.

Only the Congress Party’s ideology can save the country. Bhagwat’s ideology, Golwalkar’s ideology, or the ideology of Manusmriti will not save this country; they will destroy it, and Modi is following that path, and the BJP is following that path. Slowly but surely, these people are trying to dismantle the Constitution.

Hinduism encompasses everyone, but in the name of Hinduism, in the name of Hindutva, they want to keep the poor in bondage. If you want to live in slavery, if you heed their call to compromise your self-respect, then you will be completely ruined.

The freedom that the country gained, that freedom was brought about by the Congress... did Modi bring it? Modi wasn’t even born then! Amit Shah... he was even younger. These people speak against us, they speak against Nehru, they speak against Gandhi, they speak against Ambedkar, they want to create a conflict of ideas between Vallabhbhai Patel and Nehru... we won’t let that happen. On the other hand, there’s vote rigging... these are traitors, you have to remove these traitors. If you want to protect yourselves, if you want to become strong, then remove these traitors, and that’s why Rahul Gandhi traveled 6,000-8,000 kilometers.

These leaders in the BJP are all actors, they’re just putting on a show. They never go out, they never meet the poor, they’re only interested in promoting themselves. They promote themselves at every opportunity... and now, the day before yesterday, some of their BJP people raised a question, saying that Rahul Gandhi is going abroad after Parliament. But when Parliament is in session, Modi goes abroad, he doesn’t come to Parliament. He doesn’t sit in Parliament and answer our questions. Whatever Rahul Gandhi asks, whatever Priyanka Gandhi asked the day before yesterday... not a single answer has been given to those questions.

They are misleading the people of the country on the issue of ‘Vande Mataram’, and they have seized power by stealing votes. These traitors must be removed. Will you remove them? (The crowd replied - Yes), Will you remove them? (The crowd replied again - Yes). So, we will give you our full support, and Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, we, Sonia Gandhi, and everyone sitting on this stage are with you. All of them have taken an oath to eradicate the ideology of the BJP and the RSS, and you too must abide by that oath.

The RSS and BJP... who are sowing these seeds of poison, this is very dangerous, especially for the poor. I’m not talking about caste here, whether it’s SC, ST, OBC, or general category people, people of any caste, if the rights that Babasaheb Ambedkar, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Constituent Assembly together gave you – the Constitution and the right to vote – if that right to vote is taken away, then what will you do?

There’s a conflict between the rich and the poor here, but these people have abandoned that issue. They never think about the poor; instead, they’re making the rich even richer and the poor even poorer.

So, brothers, our fight is for the poor, our fight is against the RSS and the BJP, our fight is against these traitors, our fight is against those who are stealing votes. Therefore, you must become strong, you must go to every village, and you must tell your story in every village.

I remember, I was sitting at home the day before yesterday when Rahul ji asked me, “Are you going to Bangalore?” I said, “Yes.” Then, a few minutes later, I said, “No.” So he asked, “Why?” I replied that this rally against vote rigging was taking place, and important people were coming from all over, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, from West Bengal to Gujarat. It would be difficult to leave while this was happening.

And there’s one more thing I want to say, he’s such a great man... I’m not here to praise him, but he’s a person who always thinks about compassion and the poor... So, I sat quietly for a while, and my son had an eight-hour operation the day before yesterday. Then I thought, “Oh, it’s an eight-hour operation,” and my wife called me. My daughter is a doctor. She performed the surgery. Three or four people from my family called me saying it was a major operation and I should come. So, I told them, “Okay, okay,” but then I finally thought, “Look, soldiers die on the border for this country, for their motherland, and for the good of the nation, Indira Gandhi sacrificed her life, Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed his life, and Sonia Gandhi sacrificed everything, and should I leave this Parliament and go for my son? There’s such a huge protest here against vote rigging, there’s a big fight going on here, and I won’t leave this fight.” Just like the soldier fights on the border, just like Sonia Gandhi fought, just like our Rahul Gandhi is walking on foot, even if something happens to my son... that’s okay, but I have to save the 140 crore people of this country, that’s why I will stay. That’s why I am present here today.

Never back down in a fight. If you back down, you’re finished. Don’t be afraid, let anything come your way. There are some people who say, “The ED (Enforcement Directorate) came, what should I do?” “The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) came, what should I do?” You get scared over such small things, and yet sometimes you talk about sacrificing your life for the Party. I would say, get that thought out of your mind, be patient, think before you act, and we will all work together. This Modi won’t be visible anywhere.

Today, Modi is giving big speeches everywhere about his victory. But his victory must have brought him happiness. We lost in many places, but even though we lost, our Party and our ideology are still alive. If Modi loses even once, there will be no trace of him anywhere; he won’t be seen anywhere. We lost 10 times, 2 times, 5 times... but we are alive and ready to fight. So, brothers, be strong, prepare yourselves, and don’t get discouraged.

Look, we won in Kerala, and I congratulate all the leaders in Kerala who worked hard to crush the NDA, and today the Congress Party stands tall there, flying its flag high. So friends, I don’t want to take up much of your time. Everyone will work together, and I’ll say the slogan. You’ll have to say it:

Vote Chor (the gathering completed the slogan – gaddi chhod), Vote Chor (the gathering said - gaddi chhod), Vote Chor (the gathering said again - gaddi chhod). Jai Hind (the gathering repeated - Jai Hind), Jai Hind (the gathering repeated - Jai Hind), Jai Hind (the gathering repeated - Jai Hind once more). Vande Mataram (the crowd repeated - Vande Mataram), Vande Mataram (the crowd repeated again - Vande Mataram), Vande Mataram (the crowd repeated once more - Vande Mataram). They are now even stealing our Vande Mataram and using it. So, don’t trust these thieves. We are with you, and we will keep fighting.
Thank you! Greetings to all!”