PM busy handing out candies in Italy amid economic storm at home, says Congress

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) led a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi government over inflation, unemployment and weakening economic indicators, accusing it of pursuing publicity while the economy faced mounting distress.

In a post on X, Mr. Kharge targeted the Prime Minister over rising prices, investment slowdown and the weakening rupee, alleging that the government had imposed economic hardship on ordinary citizens.

“Modi ji wants the public to enjoy the ‘melody’ of speeches while surviving the ‘misery’ of his government’s loot,” he said, using a poster carrying the slogan, “Looting is MELODY for BJP, but MISERY for citizens!”

The Congress attack coincided with Prime Minister Modi’s visit abroad and followed a social media post by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni showing Mr. Modi gifting her ‘Melody’ toffees.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi seized on the social media video from Italy to criticise the Prime Minister’s priorities. “An economic storm is raging over our heads, and our Prime Minister is busy handing out candies in Italy,” Mr Gandhi said in a post.

“The reel that the Prime Minister made is an insult to the people of the country,” he added subsequently in a video statement.

Elaborating on the state of the economy, Mr. Kharge claimed that average debt per Indian had risen sharply during the BJP’s tenure while wealth concentration among billionaires had increased. He said domestic LPG prices had climbed from ₹414 in 2014 to over ₹915 and commercial cylinder prices had risen steeply, from ₹1,241 to ₹3,152.

Prices of CNG, milk, bread and medicines have also increased, he said, while the Centre had collected over ₹43 lakh crore through petrol taxes and excise duties.

Mr. Kharge alleged that youth unemployment has risen to 15.2% and referred to repeated examination paper leaks as evidence of governance failure affecting millions of young people. He cited the rupee touching an all-time low of around 96.90 against the U.S. dollar, a fall of nearly $38 billion in foreign exchange reserves in recent months and foreign portfolio investment outflows exceeding ₹2 lakh crore this year.

The criticism was amplified at a press conference by Congress media and publicity department chairman Pawan Khera, who rejected the government’s contention that global geopolitical tensions were primarily responsible for economic pressures.

Mr. Khera argued that the economy had been under stress for years and accused the government of blaming conflicts in West Asia to deflect responsibility for domestic policy failures. Presenting figures on fuel inflation, he said petrol prices had risen by 38% and diesel by 62% over the past 12 years. Comparing the current situation with the UPA period, he said crude oil prices then had exceeded $100 a barrel while petrol and diesel prices remained below ₹70 a litre.

He said recent fuel price increases enabled oil companies to earn about ₹12,400 crore and reiterated that the Centre had collected nearly ₹43 lakh crore through petroleum taxes over the past 12 years.

Mr. Khera highlighted the rupee’s decline, falling foreign exchange reserves and large investor outflows, while questioning the effectiveness of flagship welfare programmes such as Jan Dhan, Mudra, the Prime Minister Internship Scheme and Ayushman Bharat. He alleged irregularities in implementation, weakening of MGNREGA and inadequate protection for gig workers, besides accusing the government of attempting to suppress dissent and avoiding scrutiny through the absence of independent press conferences by the Prime Minister.