'INDIA coalition will grow stronger as we move ahead'

BJP is so unnerved that it is comparing the coalition’s name to terror outfits and the symbol of slavery – East India Company, says Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge

- Bansi Kalappa and Ramu Patil

IN an exclusive interview to this newspaper, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge tells Bansi Kalappa and Ramu Patil that INDIA is determined to address real issues concerning people such as unemployment, income inequality and inflation and provide an alternative agenda for governance based on inclusiveness and social justice.

As you gather UPA alliance partners, would it be wrong to say that the difficulties of pulling along the 26 parties without being in power in the centre are more than, let’s say, in the past, like in 2004 and 2009?

UPA was formed after Congress Party emerged as the single largest party in the 2004 Lok Sabha election, and all those parties who believed in the development model that the Congress championed came together. At one point, the coalition’s cumulative strength grew to 20. This time around, the idea to come together was felt by everyone because of the threat that the vindictive and divisive politics of BJP and RSS pose to Indian democracy, our Constitution and our institutions. We have come together to raise the real issues that impact our people — from unemployment, income inequality to inflation. We are determined to provide an alternative agenda for governance based on inclusiveness and social justice. INDIA is a coalition which will grow stronger as we move ahead. Even the name INDIA emerged from our common ideology and belief in our Constitution and our collective love for our nation, INDIA. It’s a name that is appreciated and loved by all.

Can you in the alliance get the name INDIA? What are the challenges of getting the name? Would it help the