Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Indian National Congress of betraying its longtime ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) after depending on the regional party for decades, while addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) event in Bengaluru.
Describing Congress as a party “driven” by political survival, shifting alliances and internal power struggles, Modi said the alliance with the DMK had repeatedly helped Congress during politically difficult periods and played a key role in sustaining Congress-led governments at the Centre before 2014.
He alleged that Congress later distanced itself from the DMK once political circumstances changed.
“Just look at the situation in Tamil Nadu right now. For 25-30 years, the Congress shared a close relationship with the DMK. Time and again, the alliance with the DMK pulled the Congress out of crises,” Modi said during the event. “The very DMK that consistently worked for the betterment of the Congress was betrayed the moment the political winds shifted,” he said.
“Driven by a lust for power, the power-hungry Congress stabbed the DMK in the back at the very first opportunity. Now, Congress needs yet another party, one on whose back it can ride, to remain politically relevant,” Modi added.
The remarks came as Narendra Modi congratulated Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C Joseph Vijay after he was sworn in as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. He said the Union government would continue cooperating with the state government on development and welfare initiatives.
Modi further accused the Congress government in Karnataka of spending much of its tenure managing internal disputes rather than governing.
Addressing BJP workers in Bengaluru, he referred to the continuing tensions between Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar over leadership and power-sharing arrangements, which have remained a subject of political speculation for months.
“For the past three years in Karnataka, instead of resolving people’s problems, most of the government’s time here has been spent resolving internal conflicts. The Congress government remained gripped by uncertainty over leadership and power-sharing arrangements,” Modi said.
“They cannot decide how long the chief minister will remain. They cannot decide whether another person will get a chance or not. Everything has been kept hanging,” he added.
Modi argued that Congress governments faced anti-incumbency within months because the party lacked a governance agenda and focused primarily on retaining power. “This is because Congress only knows how to betray people. They are false themselves, and their guarantees are also false. There is no chapter on governance in Congress’ book of power,” he said.
Contrasting Congress with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Modi described the NDA as a stable political force at a time of global uncertainty. He cited recent election results as evidence of growing public support for the alliance’s governance model.
The prime minister referred to the NDA returning to power in Puducherry for a second consecutive term, retaining office in Assam, improving the BJP’s performance in West Bengal and securing victories in Gujarat local body elections.
“These election results are important for the direction of Indian politics. They reflect the mood of India’s youth, women, farmers, poor and middle class,” Modi said. “India’s people are saying that they want speed, not scams; they want solutions. They want politics based on national policy,” he added.
