Bengaluru, 21 June

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is destroying India, and US President Donald Trump is destroying the world, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge charged on Sunday.

And “both of them call themselves good friends”, he said during BK Hariprasad’s swearing-in ceremony in Bengaluru.

Blaming Trump for rising fuel prices, he claimed, "India followed a policy of non-alignment since Nehru's time and maintained good relations with all countries. But that policy has been abandoned, and Modi, by going around calling everyone his friend and hugging them, has brought us to this situation."

Attacking the Modi-led government over inflation and unemployment, Kharge alleged that it was intent on concentrating power in the hands of a few while neglecting the poor. "This Modi government will fall one day, wait and watch. A big trouble is coming for Modi."

On the Ram Temple trust in Ayodhya, Kharge said there were reports of Rs 5,000 crore of funds misused, and accused the BJP of embezzlement, while noting that Modi had inaugurated the temple.