Sarbananda Sonowal targets Congress for alleged corruption, scams

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday, February 2, 2026, launched a scathing attack on the Congress, accusing past governments of corruption and mismanagement and urged the Opposition party to cooperate with the ruling alliance in working towards the target of a developed India by 2047.

Introducing the motion to thank President Droupadi Murmu for her address to the joint session of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Sonowal said the Congress needed to introspect and move away from what he described as persistent criticism of the Narendra Modi-led government.

The Dibrugarh MP alleged that the Congress was “rejected” by the people of the north-east due to its alleged failure to meet the demands of the region during its years in power.

Referring to the previous Congress-led governments, Mr. Sonowal alleged that these governments were subject to massive frauds and policy paralysis. He touched on cases including 2G spectrum, coal block allocations and the Commonwealth Games.

In contrast, he said the country has witnessed “transparent and corruption-free governance” under Mr Modi since 2014.

“The President’s Address did what the Congress could never do; spoke honestly about the past, decisively about the present and confidently about the future. This marks India’s final departure from decades of mismanagement, corruption and calculated neglect,” the Union Minister said.

Describing Ms. Murmu’s speech in Parliament as “remarkable”, the Minister underlined its historical status.

“Hon’ble President’s Speech by India’s first Adivasi President, the second mahila “The (female) President and youngest President of a nation with the largest youth population in the world is not a coincidence but the conscious reflection of a great nation in action,” said Mr. Sonowal, underlining his tribal identity.

The President’s speech outlined the government’s welfare initiatives aimed at inclusive growth, social justice and equitable development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.

Mr. Sonowal argued that the country suffered from low trust during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) years, but has undergone significant socio-economic transformation since 2014. He stated that India has emerged as the world’s fourth largest economy in the last 11 years and attributed this to what he called the political will and visionary leadership of the Prime Minister.

Mr. Sonowal also touched upon the 1962 Chinese aggression, claiming that the Northeast was left defenseless and neglected during the Congress era.

Development projects in the region had previously only emerged after sustained protests; whereas Mr. Modi had not only prioritized the northeast through sustained political attention and investment but also called the region sacred ‘Ashtalakshmi’.