Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday (July 1, 2025) charged that the government’s lofty claims of Digital India are marred by unfulfilled promises and false claims, and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reflect on his government’s “multiple failures and frauds” instead.
His remarks came after the Prime Minister stated that the Digital India initiative, launched a decade ago, bridged the digital divide between haves and have-nots, and democratised opportunity, stressing that it has become a people’s movement.
In a post on X, Mr. Kharge said as of June 26, under the BharatNet project, a total of 6.55 lakh villages were supposed to be targeted for broadband connectivity of which 4.53 lakh villages — 65% of them are yet to be covered.
The project’s deadline has been revised at least eight times in 11 years, and a meagre 0.73% (766) gram panchayats currently have active Wi-Fi services, he said.
Mr. Kharge said when private players are opting for 5G, BSNL has not yet completed its target of deploying 1 lakh 4G towers, as one-third towers left to be installed.
The Congress chief said even after receiving three revival packages worth over ₹3 lakh crore — ₹69,000 crore in 2019, ₹1.64 lakh crore in 2022, and ₹89,047 crore in 2023 — it still lags behind private players.
“BSNL’s debt rose by 291.7%, from ₹5,948 crore in March 2014 to ₹23,297 crore in March 2024. MTNL’s debt increased by 136.2%, from ₹14,210 crore to ₹33,568 crore over the same period,” he said.
Claiming digital exclusion of the marginalised, Mr. Kharge said 75.3% of people aged 15 and above in the country do not know how to use a computer.
“This includes 81.9% in rural areas and 60.4% in urban areas, highlighting a significant digital skills gap. [NSS survey, 2020-21]. Nearly 7 crore registered workers excluded from MNREGA by imposing the condition of AADHAAR based payment,” he said.
The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said, “54% of government schools do not have an internet connection, 79 per cent have no desktop computer, 85% lack a projector, and 79%t do not have a smart classroom. [UDISE+ 2023-24 report]”.
Accusing the government of hurting privacy and weakening transparency, he said none less than PM Modi himself, reportedly, told ministers and secretaries that India saw over 10 crore cyber attacks since the Pahalgam terror attack.
“Cybersecurity incidents rose by about 76.25% from 2020 to 2024. These cases increased from 11.58 lakh in 2020 to over 20.41 lakh in 2024. [CERT-In data]”
“Between 2022 and 2024, digital arrest scams and related cybercrimes in India nearly tripled, and the money lost rose 21 times. [Rajya Sabha reply],” he said in his post.
Mr. Kharge also alleged that the RTI Act brought by the Congress is being weakened by bringing a flawed Data Protection Law.
“We were told that demonetisation will reduce cash transactions, but cash in circulation has risen, even in the last year [RBI],” he said.
“Narendra Modi ji, we need to place on record that it was under the then PM Dr. Manmohan Singh, that we created the Direct Benefits through AADHAAR & UPI architecture, which has made India a leader in Digital transactions,” he said.
The Congress president claimed that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) which runs UPI transactions was established by the UPA government in 2009 itself.
First Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme – PaHaL for LPG subsidy to 9.55 crore beneficiaries was launched by Congress-UPA in June 2013, he also said..
“So, instead of glossing over National achievements, and trying to seek credit for #10YearsOfDigitalIndia, perhaps you should reflect on the multiple failures and frauds inflicted by your government,” Mr. Kharge said.
Published – July 01, 2025 04:51 pm IST
