Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday reiterated his previous statement that no sacrifice was too great to defeat the RSS and BJP’s ideology of “fascism, hatred, anger, and divisiveness”
Abdul Hafiz Lakhani | Caravan Daily
AHMEDABAD — The Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet hosted in Gujarat – PM Modi’s bastion — will be remembered for a long time, primarily for two reasons. One being – this was the first meeting of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the party’s newly appointed general secretary of eastern Uttar Pradesh. And another being the induction of Patidar leader Hardik Patel into Congress. And they are supposed to give a major boost to the party for the Lok Sabha elections.
The bugle for the approaching election was blown by the Congress by hosting the CWC meet to finalise election strategy today, in Gujarat. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday reiterated on his previous statement that no sacrifice was too great to defeat the RSS and BJP’s ideology of “fascism, hatred, anger, and divisiveness”. Taking on the dais during the CWC meet, Rahul stressed on the party’s resolve to fight the forces of hatred.
Gearing up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress during the meet revealed a slew of steps to counter BJP’s sustained campaign. “On the anniversary of Gandhi Ji’s historic Dandi March, the Congress Working Committee in Ahmedabad resolved to defeat the RSS/ BJP ideology of fascism, hatred, anger & divisiveness. No sacrifice is too great in this endeavour; no effort too little; this battle will be won,” Rahul tweeted.
The Congress hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of “trying to divide the people and playing with their emotions for political gains”. They also accused the ruling BJP of destroying the country’s institutions. The counter accusation came hours after the PM targeted the main opposition party – the Congress, in a blog.
Congress spokesperson, Anand Sharma, quoted party chief Rahul Gandhi, “We will not allow PM to once again mislead and befool people. It is regretful for India that the PM is trying to divide the nation and put the country in a bad light for his political gains.”
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi also lashed the Central government for “politicising” issues of national interest. She also called for highlighting the achievements of the previous UPA government along with emphasizing on the need to move forward in providing a new vision for the country.
She even alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is playing the “victim card” but it is the people of the country who were the victims of his “wrong policies”.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also addressed the meeting, chose to highlight the agrarian crisis, slow industrial growth and the rising rate of unemployment under the present regime.
Rahul, Sonia Gandhi and Dr Singh presided over the CWC meet organised at the Sardar Patel National Memorial in Ahmedabad.
Also, present on the discussion table was Priyanka, who joined as Congress general secretary last month. However, she sat with other Congress general secretaries, away from her mother and brother, during her first CWC meeting.
Before the meeting, the three Gandhis and other Congress leaders rode on a bus to Sabarmati to pay a visit to Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram. They also paid tribute to soldiers at a memorial before heading to Sardar Patel National Memorial for the CWC meeting.
The meeting was postponed after the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, which was followed by air strikes by India, on a terror camp in Balakot.
Patel after being inducted into the Congress, said, “It is up to the party to decide.” Patel emerged as the leader of the agitation demanding reservation for the Patidar community in Gujarat in 2015. The people from this community were considered to be bedrock supporters of the BJP.
CWC passed a resolution after meeting, stating, “Gandhi Ji, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and other freedom fighters believed in harmonious coexistence of Indian citizen, celebrated its pluralism, and firmly rejected the divisive and pernicious ideology of Hindutva propagated by the RSS and its affiliates. Prime Minister Modi and the BJP are insulting their struggle, sacrifices and enormous contribution in nation building by brazenly seeking to hijack their legacy and pretending to be the champions of their values.”
