IndiaPosted at: Oct 13 2026 10:35AM


‘Vote chori’ and ‘bachat chori’: Congress targets Modi over soaring inflation

New Delhi, Oct 13 (UNI) Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday intensified the party’s attack on the Narendra Modi government over rising prices, linking the mounting burden of inflation on households with the Opposition’s allegations of electoral manipulation.
“Vote chori is a reality, and inflation is breaking the back of the people,” Ramesh said in a post on social media platform X, accusing the government of failing to address the economic distress caused by the rising cost of essential commodities.
Citing the September inflation figures, Ramesh said retail inflation had climbed to 5.54 per cent, while food inflation had surged to 7.74 per cent, placing an increasingly heavy burden on household budgets.
He drew attention to sharp increases in the prices of everyday kitchen essentials, claiming that onion prices had risen by 108 per cent, garlic by 55 per cent, ginger by 63 per cent and lemons by 36 per cent. The figures, he argued, reflected the growing difficulty ordinary families faced in managing their daily expenses.
According to the data cited by the Congress leader, retail inflation had risen steadily from 3.40 per cent in March to 5.54 per cent in September, its highest level in 23 months.
He maintained that the pressure on household finances was not confined to food prices but extended to transport, education, clothing, footwear and other essential goods and services, forcing families to stretch their incomes to meet routine expenditure.
“The poor are losing food from their plates, the middle class is losing its savings, and the burden of debt is increasing,” Ramesh alleged, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of remaining indifferent to the hardships faced by the public.
Taking a swipe at the government’s promise of “achhe din”, he sought to frame the impact of rising prices as “bachat chori”, or the erosion of household savings, alongside the Opposition’s charge of “vote chori”.
Ramesh argued that the two issues were politically connected, contending that a government which, in the Opposition’s view, was not sufficiently responsive to electoral accountability had little incentive to address mounting public grievances.
The Congress has been campaigning against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the Election Commission’s handling of the revision process, demanding greater accountability and transparency. The allegations remain contested.
In a further attack, Ramesh accused the PM of maintaining silence as inflation rose and the Opposition intensified its campaign over alleged electoral manipulation.
Describing Modi as a “mauni baba”, the Congress leader suggested that the PM was unwilling to respond adequately to the concerns being raised by the Opposition over both the economy and the electoral process.
In a direct political challenge, Ramesh said the time had come for Modi to “pick up his bag and leave”, sharpening the Congress’s demand for accountability over the government’s economic record and its wider allegations against the ruling establishment.
The Congress’s attack comes amid continuing concerns over the cost of living, particularly food prices, which account for a significant share of expenditure among lower-income households.
Although headline retail inflation captures changes across a broad basket of consumer goods and services, rising food prices can have a disproportionate impact on poorer families, who spend a larger proportion of their earnings on groceries and other essentials.
By foregrounding the increase in food inflation and the prices of common kitchen staples, Ramesh sought to turn the cost-of-living debate into a wider political indictment of the Modi government.
His remarks combined the Congress’s criticism of the government’s handling of the economy with its continuing campaign over the integrity of the electoral process, encapsulating the party’s twin charges in the slogans “vote chori” and “bachat chori”.
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