Strengthening Congress at the grassroots: Kharge vows to fight BJP-RSS 'divisive' politics at district unit chiefs' meeting

New Delhi, April 5 (IANS) The third and final session of the District Congress Committee (DCC) Presidents' meeting concluded on Friday at Indira Bhavan here. The meeting was attended by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, and other senior party leaders.

The session focused on strengthening the party organisation at the grassroots level, improving voter list verification processes, and enhancing other operations.

In his opening remarks, Mallikarjun Kharge stressed the critical role district presidents play in conveying Congress’s ideology and programmes to the masses. He stressed the need for year-round election preparation, pointing out that Congress must be fully ready for the upcoming Assembly elections.

He stated, "Congress must continue its fight against the anti-people and anti-Constitution ideology of the BJP-RSS. We need to address the issues that matter to the public." Kharge also referred to the party's decision to declare 2024-25 as the year for organisational strengthening during the Belagavi convention.

Kharge slammed the Modi government's "focus on communal polarisation" over public welfare, saying, "The government’s priority is not the well-being of the people but divisive politics. They avoid discussing issues like inflation, unemployment, and economic failure in Parliament, yet hastily conduct debates on Manipur under the cover of darkness." He urged district presidents to monitor election processes closely and prevent any tampering with the voter lists.

KC Venugopal and Pawan Khera, Chairman of the Media and Publicity Department, held a press conference after the meeting. Venugopal shared insights into the three-phase meetings, with a total of 862 DCC Presidents participating. Moreover, State Congress Presidents, General Secretaries, and In-charges also took part in the discussions.

"The major topics of discussion included booth management, voter list verification, strengthening ideological training, media and social media strategies, and optimising the management of party assets and resources," Venugopal said.

He also provided details of the upcoming Congress session in Ahmedabad, scheduled for April 8-9, 2025. "The theme of the session will be 'Nyaypath: Sankalp, Samarpan, and Sangharsh.' This significant event will take place on the banks of the Sabarmati River," Venugopal added. The session will coincide with the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's election as Congress President and the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, both of whom were instrumental in India's freedom struggle.

On April 8, the Extended Congress Working Committee will meet at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial, and on April 9, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) session will convene with around 1,725 AICC members, MPs, ministers, and senior leaders in attendance.

KC Venugopal highlighted the historic nature of the meeting, stating, "This is the first time in 20 years that such an extensive and direct interaction between the DCC presidents and the party's high command has occurred. We are setting up a regular communication system with DCC presidents, which will help in strengthening our organisation further." He added that the district presidents were motivated and enthusiastic, and the meeting had been incredibly productive.

--IANS

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