Battle Against RSS-BJP Continues: Kharge To District Presidents
New Delhi, March 27: The Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge today said that the party’s battle against the RSS and the BJP will continue. He said the united fight against the RSS-BJP during 2024 General Elections had prevented the BJP from getting absolute majority and saved the constitution from their desire to change it. He also emphasised the need for voter list management.
Addressing the first leg of the District Presidents from 13 states and 3 union territories here today, he underlined the importance of the meeting, pointing out that the party had called all District Presidents from across the country just before the AICC session.
Maintaining that in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections INDIA parties fought unitedly against the BJP alliance, restricting them to 240 seats, he said, “our ‘Save Constitution’ campaign exposed BJP-RSS’ secret desire to change the Constitution”.
He said, “while the Congress secured almost 100 seats, if we had worked harder, we could have gained 20-30 more seats and a gain of such seats could have led to the formation of an alternative government in the country”.
“Had we achieved this, we could have halted the systematic assault on our independent institutions, democracy, and the Constitution”, he remarked.
Emphasising the importance of the role of District Presidents, he told them “you are not just our messengers, but the generals of the Congress Party, leading from the front on the ground”.
Referring to the challenges faced by the country, Kharge observed, the economy was in shambles. “The rich are getting richer while the poor become poorer. Unemployment is at an all-time high. Skyrocketing inflation has resulted in the lowest household savings in decades”, he pointed out, while adding, “attacks on the poor, marginalised communities, women, and weaker sections of society are increasing”.
Kharge reiterated the party’s demand for caste census to restore social justice in the country.
The Congress president criticised the government for its failure over foreign policy, pointing out, “the countries like the USA are not only insulting our citizens, but also embarrassing us by imposing counter-tariffs”.
He alleged that the BJP governments at the Centre and in the states remain focused on creating communal disharmony to divert public attention. These communal issues are deliberately manufactured in the media to benefit BJP rather than the people, he added.
Asserting that the Congress’ fight was much larger, he stressed upon the District Presidents to ensure that the discourse remains centred on people’s issues. “The BJP will try to distract, but you and your teams must bring the focus back to real concerns”, he stressed upon the district presidents.
Maintaining that the independent institutions the Congress built were now under attack by those in power over the past 11 years, he said, such institutions were being controlled by a handful of people with allegiance to a particular ideology.
Spelling out the priorities, he said, in next year elections will be held in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu and it is the responsibility of DCC presidents to ensure victory for every candidate in their respective districts.
The Congress president drew the attention of district presidents towards the “voter list management”. “You must have noticed the increasing discrepancies in voter lists, particularly in Maharashtra”, he told them, while adding, in West Bengal, the ECI itself admitted that Unique Voter IDs were not actually unique as the same Voter ID number had been issued to different individuals in different states.
“You must take our message to every household. We will fight and establish a government across the country that prioritises the people and their issues, our democracy, and our Constitution”, he asked the district Congress presidents while concluding his remarks.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also addressed the District Congress Presidents’ meeting. He emphasised their role as the foundation of the Congress Party. He said, without them, the party cannot thrive, cannot succeed. Our fight is not just against the RSS-BJP—it is for an India where every citizen, every community, has the right to dream and achieve, he added. Together, we will build a stronger Congress and a fairer India, he remarked.
Besides Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, the meeting was addressed by General Secretary Organisation KC Venugopal, Treasurer Ajay Maken and in-charges of the states/UTs.
Later briefing the media, Media & Publicity Department Chairman Pawan Khera informed that 338 District Congress Presidents took part in the meeting today. He said, it was a two-way interaction as one-two district presidents from every state/UT were also given a chance to speak.
