Gandhi made the remarks on Wednesday while addressing tribal leaders at an Adivasi Congress programme at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi, where he said the “system” that Modi once controlled was “shaken” and “collapsing internally”. He also warned that the country was moving towards what he described as an “economic tsunami”, linking his political prediction to pressure from unemployment, inequality and public anger over governance.
The statement marks one of Gandhi’s sharpest personal attacks on Modi since the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when the Bharatiya Janata Party fell short of a majority on its own and returned to office through the National Democratic Alliance. Modi, who took oath for a third consecutive term on 9 June 2024, continues to head the government with support from coalition partners, giving the opposition leader’s claim the character of a political forecast rather than a parliamentary certainty.
Gandhi told the gathering that institutions and people within the system were no longer functioning as they had earlier. He claimed information about the Prime Minister and Union ministers was reaching him from within the establishment, suggesting that internal confidence in the government had weakened. He did not place documentary evidence in the public domain to support the claim or explain the mechanism by which Modi could lose office before the end of the Lok Sabha’s term.
The Congress leader also suggested that Modi could try to impose “something like Emergency” to resist public pressure, invoking one of the most politically charged terms in post-Independence history. The Emergency imposed from 1975 to 1977 under Indira Gandhi remains a sensitive reference point in national politics, and Gandhi’s use of the phrase is likely to draw strong criticism from the BJP, which has often accused Congress of undermining democratic institutions during that period.
Gandhi’s remarks came as Congress attempts to rebuild its organisation after a mixed electoral cycle. The party improved its Lok Sabha tally in 2024 and secured formal recognition for Gandhi as Leader of the Opposition, but it remains dependent on alliances and regional partners to challenge the BJP-led bloc nationally. His latest comments appear aimed at sharpening the opposition’s narrative that Modi’s authority has narrowed since the BJP lost its single-party majority.
The BJP remains the largest party in the Lok Sabha, with 240 seats won in the 2024 election, while the NDA crossed the majority mark with coalition support. Congress won 99 seats, giving it its strongest presence in the House in a decade, but still leaving it far behind the ruling party. The parliamentary arithmetic means any change in leadership would depend on developments inside the ruling alliance, a loss of majority support, or an internal decision by the BJP and its partners.
Gandhi’s speech also focused on tribal rights, accusing the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of seeking control over “jal, jangal, zameen”, a phrase widely used in movements for community rights over water, forests and land. He said Adivasi communities were being pushed away from their identity and resources, and accused the ruling ecosystem of preferring the term “vanvasi” to dilute constitutional and historical recognition of tribal communities.
The BJP has consistently rejected such allegations, maintaining that its welfare schemes, infrastructure programmes and outreach in tribal districts have expanded state support for marginalised communities. The party has also argued that Congress failed to protect tribal interests during its decades in power and now invokes these communities only for electoral mobilisation.
Gandhi’s attack on the government’s economic management fits into a wider Congress campaign centred on jobs, prices, inequality and alleged crony capitalism. He has repeatedly argued that wealth concentration, paper leaks, unemployment and agrarian stress are weakening public trust in the government. The BJP counters that India’s growth, infrastructure expansion, digital payments, welfare delivery and global standing have improved under Modi’s leadership.
