Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress President addressed the nation through video message on Independence Day. Highlights of the Video Message on 15 August, 2025 I extend my warm wishes and congratulations to all of you on the 79th Independence Day. Today is a historic day for the Congress Party, as we are celebrating Independence Day at our new permanent headquarters. The entire world knows the role of our Party in the independence we achieved on 15 August, 1947. The story of the freedom struggle is the story of our Party. On this occasion, I bow down to all the great personalities who contributed and sacrificed in the freedom movement and pay my heartfelt tribute to them.

After independence, after two and a half years of tireless hard work, we gave India our Constitution, which perhaps cannot be compared with any other constitutional document in the world. In the long journey of 8 decades after independence, the Congress Party governments and our visionary leaders laid the foundation of a strong India. By keeping the Constitution supreme, the people were given an equal position in the creation of democracy. Equal rights were given to everyone - rich, poor, king, subjects, women, men. One person, one vote, one value.

To make India, which was bound in the chains of slavery for hundreds of years, truly independent and self-reliant, big steel factories were set up, big dams were built to make the country self-reliant in food grains, a network of canals was laid, world class engineering and medical colleges were built, space technology was established. We progressed rapidly. Very soon, our name started being counted among the great powers of the world.

After 2004, we emerged as a world leader in information technology. I would like to remind you of the words of our first Prime Minister Pandit Nehru. He had said that “India is a great and ancient civilization. We have a rich heritage to be proud of. But we must also look to the future and build a new India that is strong, prosperous and just for all.” Friends, but if we look at the last decade, many big challenges have emerged before us. Unemployment has assumed a terrible form. Government policies are eliminating jobs instead of creating them. The construction work being done in the name of infrastructure development is of sub-standard and poor quality.

The ruling party has filled the constitutional institutions with people of its own ideology rather than merit. Whenever they wanted, they appointed anyone, and whenever they wanted, they took resignations. Institutions like ED, Income Tax, CBI have been used so openly for political purposes against the opposition that the country's Supreme Court has to show them the mirror. India's non-alignment policy has earned us respect in the world for years, today we have lost that special place. Where once we were the voice of all developing countries, today we have no one of our own, neither in the neighbourhood nor in the faraway lands.

Friends, the dream that the heroes of independence had for this country is going away from us today. The basis of Indian democracy is fair elections. Dr. Ambedkar had said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949, “Franchise is a most fundamental things in a democracy. No person who is entitled to be brought into the electoral rolls….should be excluded merely as a result of prejudice….”

But now the ruling party is ready to go to the extent of immorality to remain in power. Large scale irregularities are coming to light in the elections. In the name of Special Intensive Revision, votes of the opposition are being openly cut. Those who are alive have been declared dead. The impartiality of the Central Election Commission can be understood from the fact that it was not ready to tell whose votes are being cut and on what basis. We are thankful to the Supreme Court that it listened to the voice of the people and asked the Election Commission to make the voter list public. The most surprising thing is that the ruling party has no objection to the 65 lakh votes being cut. This clearly shows who was being benefited by this exercise.

Friends, Rahul ji proved with data how the Lok Sabha seat was won by rigging. Now similar evidence is coming out in many seats where the Congress Party got a lead in all the assembly segments, but in one segment the BJP's lead defeated the Congress candidate. We have this apprehension about the Maharashtra assembly election results too. The Party is closely studying such seats. When the time comes, this will be presented before the people. Because this is the biggest challenge not only for us but for the world's largest democracy.

Friends, I appeal to the Congress Party leaders and workers across the country to take out the voter list of their booth and check it closely. See how many people's names have been deleted, or they have been declared dead, or they have been shifted to another booth as part of a conspiracy. Why are so many outsiders' names being added, or where has the same voter ID card been added more than once?

A new thing has been noticed that a day before the election, a new voter list is sent in the name of additional list, which the candidate is unable to check due to lack of time. This is the conspiracy of our opponents, but we have to expose this conspiracy of theirs. Congress Party has created a website, on which you can give information about all the irregularities. Apart from this, people from all over the country are sending such information, we are collecting them too.

Remember, this is not a fight to win elections, this is a fight to save Indian democracy, this is a fight to protect our Constitution. We cannot let the dreams of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Dr. Ambedkar, Maulana Azad, Subhash Chandra Bose shatter like this. We have to fight this battle with the same intensity with which we fought the freedom struggle.

To fight this battle, Rahul ji is going to start the 'Vote Adhikar Yatra' from Sasaram in Bihar from the coming 17th. All of you have to join hands to make it successful. I conclude my speech with these words. Jai Hind. Jai Congress.

On 79th Independence Day Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi greeted the nation and said in his X-post

“Heartiest greetings of Independence Day to all the countrymen.

This freedom, achieved by the sacrifice of great freedom fighters, is a resolution to build such an India where justice is based on truth and equality and there is respect and brotherhood in every heart.

It is our duty to protect the pride and honour of this priceless heritage.

Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!”