Top Cong leaders discuss poll strategy at extended CWC meet; Kharge calls for unity, discipline
Hyderabad (PTI): After two days of hectic deliberations, the Congress on Sunday expressed confidence about receiving a decisive mandate in the upcoming Assembly polls in five states and reaffirmed its preparedness for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge exhorting leaders to maintain unity and discipline.
In his speech on the concluding day of the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting here, Kharge urged the leaders to set aside their personal differences to ensure the party's success and work towards forming an alternative government in the country as people are looking for a change.
He also asked them not to say anything against the party or their colleagues in public for their personal gains that could hurt the party's prospects.
A call to strengthen the Congress organisation and the opposition INDIA alliance was also made during the discussions, where several leaders said they should not rush with seat-sharing arrangements with like-minded parties in the alliance and should hold negotiations from a "position of strength", sources said.
A resolution adopted at the conclusion of the extended CWC meeting expressed confidence that the Congress will receive a decisive mandate from the people of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana in the Assembly elections due in months.
"It also reaffirms the preparedness of the party organisation for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, which are due in April-May 2024.
"The Congress party is fully ready for the battle ahead. It is confident that the people of our country are wanting change. We will fulfil their expectations of law and order, freedom, social and economic justice, equality and equity," the CWC resolution said.
During the two-day parleys, Sonia Gandhi called for strengthening the INDIA alliance while Rahul Gandhi said both the Congress party and the opposition bloc should be strengthened. Several leaders also said that this should not be done at the cost of the Congress.
During the CWC meet, the party's state unit chiefs of the four poll-bound states also gave their reports on preparedness and the roadmap for winning the polls in their states.
During the deliberations, some leaders expressed apprehensions on AAP leaders continuing to attack and cause hurt to party leaders even when they had stopped doing so, the sources said.
Some Delhi leaders, including former Union minister Ajay Maken and Alka Lamba, besides Punjab leaders including Pratap Singh Bajwa spoke against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), they added.
Maken, the sources said, told the leadership that while they were in favour of the INDIA bloc, the Congress should not rush with seat-sharing talks and should wait till the results in these five states come. He called for holding seat-sharing talks from a position of strength instead of doing so now, as the opposition parties were pushing for it in their interest.
Maken also said that AAP leaders were announcing contesting in states where Congress was in a position to form their government and were attacking Congress leaders and that should stop.
Punjab leaders Bajwa and PCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring did not favour having a tie-up with AAP in their state, as their leaders were being targeted, the sources said.
Kharge earlier told the CWC members, state unit presidents and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders to work towards the goal of defeating the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 general election as well as in the five upcoming Assembly polls. He also asked them to be ready for elections in Jammu and Kashmir, whenever it is announced.
At the conclusion, Kharge also urged the party leaders to carry out the tasks given to them with diligence and reach out to the voters, especially those aged 18-25 years. He also asked them to tell the people about the party's ideology for which a force of young speakers would be prepared.
Recalling Jawaharlal Nehru's words that "rest is forbidden", Kharge said everyone has to work to protect democracy and the Constitution and thanked them for displaying unity in putting forward suggestions to the party top brass.
In his opening remarks, the Congress chief accused the Narendra Modi government of diverting people's attention from basic issues and requested the party leaders to stay away from such distractions and remain focused on the real issues.
On the day the opposition INDIA bloc held its meeting in Mumbai, the Modi government formed a panel to explore the feasibility of the "one nation, one election" concept and "in contravention of all conventions, it also included a former president to fulfil its agenda", Kharge said.
"This is not the time for us to rest... We must unite and overthrow this dictatorial government to protect our democracy," the Congress president said.
He said people are looking for an alternative and the Congress party's poll victories in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka are a clear proof of this.
"We must work tirelessly, putting aside personal interests. We must prioritise the success of the party, putting aside our personal differences. We must exercise self-restraint and avoid going to the media with statements against our leaders or party so that the Congress's interests are not harmed," Kharge asserted.
Organisational unity is of utmost importance, he said and stressed that "only through unity and discipline can we defeat our adversaries".
"Our goal must be to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and work diligently to form an alternative government in the country," he noted.
Kharge said 2024 also marks the centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi's election as the Congress president and the most fitting tribute to him would be to oust the BJP from power.
"From Telangana, we will go with renewed strength and a clear message. We leave Hyderabad today with a firm commitment -- to win not only in Telangana, but in all upcoming elections, relieving people from the miseries of the BJP's misrule," he said.
Taking note of the upcoming challenges, Kharge said these obstacles are not just for the Congress as they concern the survival of democracy in India as well as the preservation of the Constitution.
The Congress president asked the state unit chiefs and legislature party leaders: "Are your committees at the mandal, block and district levels ready? Are we giving them regular programmes? Have we started identifying potential candidates?"
He said in the last 10 years under the BJP's rule, the challenges faced by the common man have multiplied. Prime Minister Modi, he alleged, refuses to address the concerns of the poor, farmers, labourers, women and youngsters.
The prime minister cannot look beyond himself, Kharge alleged. "In such circumstances, we cannot remain mute spectators," he said.
This was the first meeting of the reconstituted CWC under Kharge's presidency.
Besides the regular members, permanent invitees and special invitees, the extended meeting of the apex decision-making body of the party included the state unit chiefs, CLP leaders, parliamentary party office-bearers and its Central Election Committee members.
The CWC meeting concluded on Sunday with a mega 'Vijayabheri' rally in Tukkuguda, near Hyderabad, where the party announced six guarantees for people of Telangana ahead of Assembly polls.
The huge public rally which saw participation of a large number of people from across the state marked the occasion of Telangana National Integration Day, the day the princely state of Hyderabad merged with the Indian Union in 1948.
While the Congress MPs would return to Delhi after the rally for a special session of Parliament, the CWC members, state unit presidents, CLP leaders and other leaders will branch out to the various Assembly constituencies of Telangana on September 18 to hold rallies and functions.
Gearing up for the upcoming Assembly and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had on the first day of the meet made a strong pitch for social justice and resolved to make the opposition INDIA bloc an "ideological and electoral success" to free the country from "divisive politics".
The party also called for the passage of the women's reservation bill in the upcoming special session of Parliament, conducting a caste census and increasing the limit of reservation for the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
A resolution adopted on Saturday also rejected the idea of "one nation, one election", calling it an attack on the country's federal structure.
It is after years that the CWC met outside Delhi, a move seen as an attempt to consolidate the support base in poll-bound Telangana and go all out to oust the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) from power in the southern state.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
