Kharge bats for raising local leadership, finding 'ideologically committed people' to strengthen Congress at Belagavi session

'We have the power of ideas, the legacy of Gandhi-Nehru and the heritage of great leaders. We will return from Belgaum with a new message and new resolution', Kharge said.

Belagavi/New Delhi: Identifying the need to involve young and ideologically committed people in leadership, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said 2025 will be a year of organisational strengthening by filling up all vacant posts and equipping the party with necessary skills to win election from booth to central level.

In his opening remarks at the meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee in Belagavi to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s presidency, he said hard work alone was not enough as a time-bound solid strategy and direction is necessary. There is also a need to give young blood an opportunity besides raising local leadership, he said.

Recalling the decision taken at the CWC meeting on November 29 after Haryana and Maharashtra election debacles, Kharge said they had decided to fight the atmosphere of despair created by the poll outcome and had chalked out a plan for organisational revamp.

“We have to increase our organisational strength. Our supporters want to know what we are going to do to make ourselves strong. Even those who are not our supporters but have lost hope in the union government want to know how we will make ourselves strong,” Kharge told the nearly 200 senior Congress leaders attending the meeting.

“I want to say that 2025 will be the year of our organisational strengthening. We will fill all the vacant posts in the organisation. We will implement the Udaipur Declaration completely. We will equip our organisation with necessary skills to win elections from AICC to mandal and booth levels,” he said.

Kharge said there is a need to find people who are ideologically committed, who are ready to fight to protect the Constitution and who believe in the Idea of India and of the Congress. Such people will have to be connected to the party, they will have to be brought into the mainstream and involved in the work of the organisation, he said.

"There is also a need to raise local and new leadership. We have the power of ideas, the legacy of Gandhi-Nehru and the heritage of great leaders. We will return from Belgaum with a new message and new resolution,” he said.

Giving credit to Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra for restricting BJP in the Lok Sabha elections to 240, he said people have foiled the BJP-RSS' plan to tamper with the Constitution.

“When the Prime Minister was elected to the Parliament for the first time, he bowed his head on the steps of the old Parliament after which the new parliament was constructed. We are afraid that this time before taking oath in the new parliament building, he had bowed his head in front of the Constitution. We know this is their old project,” he said.

Kharge also referred to the controversy over Home Minister Amit Shah's “insulting” remarks against Ambedkar and said the Prime Minister and the government are not ready to accept the mistake. Far from seeking an apology and resignation from Shah, he said, they supported the objectionable statement.

“A false case was registered against Rahul Gandhi. This is the attitude of today's rulers towards the Constitution and its creator. But we are not going to be afraid of anyone nor are we going to bow down. We will fight till the last breath for the ideology of Nehru-Gandhi and the respect of Babasaheb,” he said.

He also criticised the latest amendment to the Conduct of Election Rules and said people's faith in the electoral process is gradually decreasing because questions are being raised on the impartiality of the commission.

“What is it that is being tried to be hidden? What is the problem in publishing the information which was not a problem till now? Sometimes the names of voters are deleted. Sometimes they are prevented from voting. Sometimes the number in the voter list increases suddenly. Sometimes at the last moment, the vote turnout increases. These are some questions that keep coming up for which no satisfactory answer is found,” he said.