Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday launched the party’s yatra in Bihar in support of Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra with an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to protect the economy and the society, and targeting the Grand Old Party instead.

“The youths are not getting employment. Inflation is touching the sky and our condition is becoming weaker every passing day. But Narendra Modi is busy asking what the Congress did in 70 years! Had we not done anything in 70 years, Modi, you would not have become the Prime Minister,” Kharge said while flagging off the yatra from the Mandar Hills in Banka.

“The 50–60 vehicles with which you (Modi) roam is the contribution of the Congress, which protected the people and the Constitution. Congress is the reason that people like you became the Prime Minister of the country and a poor person like me became the leader of the Opposition and is now in front of you as the AICC (All India Congress Committee) president,” Kharge added.

Kharge, who arrived late at Patna due to inclement weather and then took a helicopter to Banka, asserted that it was Modi who has not done anything for the country.

“You (Modi) did not give freedom to the nation. You did not fight for the country. None of your people went to jail or protested against the British. The Congress did everything. It gave Independence and development. Jawaharlal Nehru took the nation ahead with five-year plans. We have given the AIIMS, IITs, medical and engineering colleges to the country.”