Story perspectives

Modi Calls Congress a “Parasite” at NDTV Summit

By Drooid · Oct 23, 2026, 4:47 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Indian National Congress a “parasite” at the NDTV World Summit on October 22, 2026.
The BJP described Congress as a ‘red-green’ ecosystem linking communist and Islamic groups across nine countries, alleging regime-change plotting.
BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said Congress’s Lok Sabha seats fell to a 2014 low after Rahul Gandhi became its leader.

History

Historical Context

In the 1998 Indian general election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unseated the Indian National Congress, securing 182 Lok Sabha seats against Congress’s 141. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s coalition government then pursued a “India Shining” agenda, while the opposition’s share of votes fell 12 percentage points, from 39 % in 1996 to 27 %. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP again brands Congress a “parasite,” with Sudhanshu Trivedi citing the party’s 44-seat low in the 2024 Lok Sabha, echoing the 1998 narrative of decline. The recurrence suggests that electoral setbacks and rhetorical attacks have become a persistent strategy for the BJP to consolidate power and marginalize opposition.

1 of 2

Story summary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Indian National Congress a “parasite” at the NDTV World Summit on October 22, 2026.
The BJP described Congress as a ‘red-green’ ecosystem linking communist and Islamic groups across nine countries, alleging regime-change plotting.
BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said Congress’s Lok Sabha seats fell to a 2014 low after Rahul Gandhi became its leader.

1 / 2