Congress needs women, youth to win power: D K Shivakumar

Congress leader Raksha Ramaiah was formally anointed as the party’s Youth Congress president on Friday.

Raksha has his task cut out going by the diktat he received from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar.

“Women and youth hold the key for the Congress to come back to power,” Shivakumar said at the event where Raksha took charge. “I am designing a programme on this front. I want Raksha to send youths to every village and booth. Meet every youth aged 18-35. We have a form to ask them what the BJP has done for them in the last seven years. Let’s ask this question to every youth,” he said.

Shivakumar said Youth Congress workers need not worry about the BJP. “We the state leaders will handle them. Every Youth Congress member should focus on adding more people to the organisation,” he said, adding that Raksha’s team should work closely with the National Students Union of India, the party’s student wing.

The KPCC chief also asked the Youth Congress to form groups in every booth. “In every booth, there should be one digital youth,” he said.

Also Read | I lost patience over BK Hariprasad's remark against Modi: Eshwarappa

Raksha, the son of former minister MR Seetharam, was declared as the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee in January this year. He will hold the post until January 31, 2022. Thereafter, Mohammed Haris Nalapad, the other contender for the post and son of Shantinagar MLA NA Haris, will take over.

Speaking at the event, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said the BJP was filled with "thieves" and that he had not seen people "do so much corruption". "Each one of you should know why you are with the Congress and not BJP or JD(S)," he said. "The BJP stands for Hindutva whereas the Congress is for manushatva (humanity)."

Cut fuel price, Siddu tells Bommai

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Friday asked Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to follow Tamil Nadu's footsteps in reducing fuel price. "Tamil Nadu has cut the petrol price by Rs 3 helping lakhs of common man (sic). I urge CM Basavaraj Bommai to follow the same and cut the price of both petrol & diesel in Karnataka," Siddaramaiah said in a tweet.