Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and RSS of weakening the Constitution and criticised the TMC for governance failures during rallies in West Bengal. He positioned Congress as the alternative while raising concerns over jobs, corruption, and national policies
Published Date – 14 April 2026, 08:08 PM
Raiganj/Malda (WB): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a two-pronged attack in West Bengal, accusing the BJP and the RSS of destroying the Constitution with their “hate-filled thinking”, while claiming the ruling TMC has failed to fulfil its promise of providing jobs to the state’s youth.
Addressing poll rallies in Uttar Dinajpur, Malda and Murshidabad districts, he claimed the residents of Bengal were stuck between the “hatred-spreading” BJP and the anti-people TMC, and projected the Congress as the only option for the welfare of the masses.
Gandhi alleged that the Mamata Banerjee dispensation’s “indulgence in corruption and wrong governance policies paved the way for the proliferation of the BJP’s influence in the state”.
“Had the Trinamool not perpetrated violence and delivered good governance, the BJP would not have been able to set foot here.” Gandhi claimed that 84 lakh youths in Bengal have applied for the unemployment allowance promised by the Mamata Banerjee government.
“Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee promised jobs to five lakh people. But 84 lakh youths have applied for unemployment allowance,” he said.
Remembering deceased Congress leader from the region and former Union minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said he was certain that had Dasmunshi been alive, “he would have been the chief minister of Congress-ruled Bengal”.
Targeting the BJP and the RSS, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha accused the two outfits of destroying the Constitution with their “hate-filled thinking” and being “involved in vote theft”.
Gandhi termed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls “unconstitutional” and alleged that wherever the BJP and the RSS get a chance, they make insinuations against the Constitution.
He accused the BJP of pitting one community against another in the name of religion and caste to win elections.
Gandhi claimed that once the Congress forms a government, the names of those wrongly struck off the electoral rolls under SIR will be reinstated.
Claiming the Trinamool Congress cannot take on the BJP across the country, he said the Congress is the only party that can stand up against the saffron camp and defeat it.
Gandhi claimed the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was causing joblessness across the country, while the TMC in Bengal was not fulfilling its responsibility towards the people. “It seems the TMC is clearing the path for the BJP.”
The Congress leader accused the TMC of being responsible for “joblessness” in West Bengal. “The TMC has closed all industries in Bengal and is running the state through syndicates.”
Gandhi claimed the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has not given Rs 2 lakh crore due for Bengal and also deprived the state of funds under MNREGA.
Targeting PM Modi and the TMC over the issue of corruption, the Congress leader said, “If Modi is the most corrupt prime minister in the country, then the TMC has broken all records of corruption in Bengal.”
Alleging that crimes against women and political violence were on the rise in the state, Gandhi said, “A total dictatorship is going on in Bengal.”
Referring to ponzi scams such as the Saradha and Rose Valley cases, he claimed that “syndicates run by TMC members” benefit from graft. Gandhi also accused the TMC of indulging in violence and making false promises.
Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over India and the US agreeing on a trade deal, the former Congress chief said, “It will lead to closure of small and mid-size industries, and cause job loss in India.”
Gandhi claimed that 35 lakh documents of the controversial Epstein files are yet to be made public, and the key to that is with US President Donald Trump.
“PM Modi’s control is in the hands of Trump,” Gandhi said while slamming the prime minister over the India-US trade deal, claiming that it would “harm the people of the country, including Bengal, the workers, farmers and small traders”.
He alleged that PM Modi has opened up the country’s agriculture sector to the US, allowing it to sell its farm produce in India.
“India’s agricultural sector will be devastated. Modi sold off India in the trade deal with the US. He is not ‘desh bhakt’ (patriot), he is ‘deshdrohi’ (traitor),” Gandhi alleged.
The Congress leader said, “The BJP knows that some day Congress workers will defeat them and then action will be taken against Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.”
He also accused the Modi government of handing over India’s energy security to the US by “succumbing to Washington’s pressure”.
Stating that data security is of paramount importance as a country’s strength is built on it, Gandhi accused the Modi government of giving up India’s data to the US. “National security has been harmed by this,” he said.
Alleging that the Modi government has given a commitment to the US that it would buy goods from it worth Rs 9.5 lakh crore, Gandhi said, “If American goods enter India like a tsunami, then our country’s small and medium scale factories will close down.”
“This will cause double loss for Bengal since Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already closed down industries in the state,” he said.
At the Samserganj rally in Murshidabad district, which had seen extensive violence during the 2025 anti-Waqf protests in the state, Gandhi said the country was witnessing a battle between two ideologies, one of unity, love and brotherhood of the Congress, and the other of “hatred and violence propagated by the BJP and the RSS”.
Exhorting the people of Bengal to vote for the Congress, he reiterated the party’s promises in its manifesto, including providing Rs 10 lakh health insurance for every citizen, Rs 15,000 to each farmer, 200 units of free electricity for agricultural purposes and Rs 2,000 to every woman.
