Sarbananda Sonowal targets Congress for alleged corruption, scams

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

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

The Dibrugarh MP claimed that the Congress had been “rejected” by the people of the northeast because of its alleged failure to address the region’s aspirations during its years in power.

Referring to earlier Congress-led governments, Mr. Sonowal alleged that they had been marked by major scams, and policy paralysis. He cited cases, including on 2G spectrum and coal block allocations, and the Commonwealth Games. 

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

“The President’s Address has done what the Congress never could — it spoke honestly about the past, decisively about the present, and confidently about the future. It marks India’s final departure from decades of misrule, corruption and calculated neglect,” the Union Minister said.

Describing Ms. Murmu’s address to Parliament as “remarkable”, the Minister highlighted her historic position.

“The Honourable President’s Address, delivered by India’s first Adivasi President, second mahila (woman) President, and the youngest President of a nation with the world’s largest youth population, is not a coincidence but a conscious reflection of a great nation in motion,” Mr. Sonowal said, underlining his own tribal identity.

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

Mr. Sonowal argued that the country had suffered from low confidence during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) years but had undergone significant socio-economic transformation since 2014. India had emerged as the world’s fourth-largest economy in the past 11 years, he said, attributing it to what he termed the Prime Minister’s political will and visionary leadership.

Mr. Sonowal also invoked the 1962 Chinese aggression, alleging that the northeast had been left vulnerable and neglected during the Congress era. 

Development projects in the region had earlier come by only after sustained protests, whereas Mr. Modi had not only prioritised the northeast through sustained political attention and investment, but referred to the region as the sacred ‘Ashtalakshmi’.