Sonia Gandhi inaugurates Cong's new Kotla Road headquarters
New Delhi (PTI): Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the party's new headquarters located at 9A, Kotla Road here on Wednesday, marking a key moment in the history of the grand old party which has operated from the 24, Akbar Road premises for the last 47 years.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K C Venugopal, among other senior party leaders, were present on the occasion.
The event saw party leaders hoist the party flag at the new headquarters and the singing of Vande Matram and the national anthem.
Sonia Gandhi then inaugurated the building, asking Kharge to join her in cutting the ribbon at the entry of the building.
The new state-of-the-art AICC headquarters -- Indira Gandhi Bhawan - symbolises the Congress party's continuing mission to uphold the vision of its stalwarts, the party had earlier said.
"It is time for us to move ahead with the times and embrace the new,” AICC general secretary, organisation, Venugopal had said,
The construction of Indira Gandhi Bhawan was started during Sonia Gandhi's tenure as Congress chief.
"Situated at 9A, Kotla Road, New Delhi, the Indira Gandhi Bhawan is designed to meet the evolving needs of the party and its leaders, featuring modern facilities to support administrative, organisational, and strategic activities.
"This iconic building reflects the Congress party's forward-looking vision while paying homage to its extraordinary past, which has shaped the political and social fabric of India," he had said.
Sources have said the party will not vacate its present 24, Akbar Road office, which has been its headquarters since 1978 after the Congress (I) was formed, and it will continue to house some of its cells.
The construction of the new AICC headquarters was delayed by several years owing to "paucity of funds" ever since the Congress lost its government at the Centre. The BJP has also not vacated its old party headquarters at 11, Ashoka Road, even after shifting to its new headquarters at Deendayal Upadhyay Marg.
Congress old-timers and romantics agree that modern amenities and a larger area are the need of the hour but the emotional connect and unfolding of history associated with the 24, Akbar Road address will always stay strong.
The Akbar Road bungalow once housed Sir Reginald Maxwell, who was a member of Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's executive council. It was also home to a teen Aung San Suu Kyi in 1961 when her mother was appointed ambassador to India.
The Congress has been its mainstay though. More than just an office for the party, the premises set in expansive lawns was witness to the tenure of seven Congress presidents.
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Karnataka caste census report likely to be placed before cabinet on Jan 16
Bengaluru (PTI): With the Socio-Economic and Education Survey report, popularly known as the 'caste census,' likely to be placed before the state cabinet on January 16, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara stressed that its contents should be made public.
He said, any decision based on the report is the prerogative of the government and it will be taken after analysing it.
Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes under its then Chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde had submitted the report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on February 29 last year, amid objections raised by certain sections of society and voices against it from within ruling Congress.
"It was decided the sealed cover (of report) will be opened before the cabinet, otherwise it may lead to leakage of information....whether there will be a discussion on it or not, I cannot speak about it now, once opened at least abstract information will be known to us," Parameshwara told reporters here replying to a question.
To a question on the opposition from certain dominant sections to the report and implementation of its recommendations, he said, the government has got the report after spending Rs 160 crore tax payers money, it should at least be made public, taking action based on it is secondary.
"Taking action based on it is left to the discretion of the government, the government will ultimately decide. But at least the information from the report that was prepared by spending Rs 160 crore, should come out. So there is a demand that what is there in the report be made public," he added.
What is happening now is bringing out the information from the report, the Home Minister said.
Karnataka's two dominant communities -- Vokkaliags and Lingayats -- have expressed reservations about the survey done, calling it "unscientific", and have demanded that it be rejected and a fresh survey be conducted.
The commission headed by Jayaprakash Hegde had said that the report was prepared based on data collected by 1.6 lakh officials, including 1.33 lakh teachers under the leadership of respective Deputy Commissioners of the districts across the state.
The then Siddaramaiah-led Congress government (2013-2018) had in 2015 commissioned the survey in the state.
The state Backward Classes Commission under its then chairperson Kantharaju was tasked with preparing a caste census report. The survey work was completed in 2018, towards the end of Siddaramaiah's first tenure as Chief Minister. The findings of the survey in the form of a report never came out in public thereafter.
With strong disapproval from the two politically influential communities the survey report may turn out to be a political hot potato for the government, as it may set the stage for a confrontation, with Dalits and OBCs among others demanding for it to be made public.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president, and a Vokkaliga, was a signatory, along with a couple of other ministers, to a memorandum submitted by the community to the chief minister earlier, requesting that the report and the data be rejected.
All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of Veerashaiva-Lingayats, which has also expressed its disapproval vis-a-vis the survey and demanded conduct of a fresh survey, is headed by veteran Congress leader and MLA Shamanuru Shivashankarappa. Several Lingayat ministers and MLAs too have raised objections.
According to some reports, findings of the survey are allegedly contrary to the "traditional perception" with regard to the numerical strength of various castes in Karnataka, especially Lingayats and Vokkaligas, making it a politically sticky issue.
