The Congress on Saturday (July 31, 2026) accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “playing the victim card” and said he owed an apology to the country’s youth instead of claiming to have forgiven them.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took exception to the Prime Minister’s reported remarks in an Instagram interaction in which he said he had forgiven the youth. Describing the statement as “an act of supreme self-obsession”, Mr. Ramesh said it was “an insult to the nation and to our youth”.

“The self-declared non-biological PM enjoys playing the victim card,” Mr. Ramesh said, alleging that Mr. Modi routinely attacked his predecessors and political opponents and used Parliament and public speeches to “peddle lies” against them.

“He unleashes an army of foul-mouthed abusers both in Parliament and outside and gives them full protection. The entire nation is wanting the PM to apologise for the trauma inflicted on lakhs of youth through his paper leak-ridden NTA and his Home Ministry-sanctioned brutality on student protestors,”Mr. Ramesh said.

Mr. Ramesh also referred to the controversy surrounding the Ram Mandir Trust, describing it as “Chanda Chori, Astha Dhoka” (Donation theft, trust betrayal), and said the Prime Minister should apologise for the issue.

He further accused the government of failing to acknowledge the economic impact of the 2016 demonetisation exercise, which he alleged had destroyed livelihoods and forced the closure of lakhs of micro, small and medium enterprises

“But late last night, in act of supreme self-obsession, the PM said that he forgave our youth. This is an insult to the nation and to our youth which has suffered under his Government and is legitimately demanding an apology from him. The Prime Minister’s InstaGram Sabhas are fooling no one,” Mr. Ramesh said.

Published - August 01, 2026 03:10 pm IST