Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday took a dig at the Modi government and said that it had “not done anything in the last ten years which could be termed as a milestone”.
Kharge, who chaired a meeting of the PCC presidents, CLP leaders, and AICC General Secretaries and in-charges of states, accused the Modi government of being arrogant.
“Politics of arrogance and lies comes with an expiry date”, he said while referring to the BJP government at the Centre. Claiming that NDA exists just in name now, Kharge said that in comparison the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was emerging stronger with parties, who have strong workers at the grass-roots, part of it.
Kharge recalled how under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, the United Progressive Alliance defeated the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance 20 years ago,
in 2004. He said at that time every worker across the country had worked hard to defeat the NDA and now the time has come when the workers need to work with the same zeal and dedication once again.
Kharge said the time has come for the “same dedication, commitment, zeal, and hard work” to ensure the party’s victory in the 2024 general elections.
He listed some important steps the party has taken including “Donate for Desh” ‘crowd-funding’ ahead of the general elections. He said the duties of general secretaries and in-charges have been finalized and manifesto committee has also been constituted.
Asserting that the NDA existed just in name now, Kharge said, in comparison, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was emerging stronger with parties having strong grass-roots cadres across the country, being part of it.
Later briefing reporters, AICC general secretary in charge of the Communication Department, Jairam Ramesh said, that today’s meeting had two issues on the agenda, which included preparations for the 2024 General Elections and the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ to be led by Rahul Gandhi from January 14 to March 20 or 21.
Jairam Ramesh said there was a unanimous view that the momentum generated by the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the transformation it brought to Indian politics, needed to be carried forward. Referring to the theme ‘Nyay’ of the ‘Yatra’ he said, it had been drawn from the Constitution, which in the Preamble seeks ‘Justice’ including social, economic, and political justice for the people of the country.
Ramesh said the Yatra will start from Imphal on January 14 and will conclude in Mumbai on March 20 or 21. It will cover a distance of 6,713 kilometres mostly by bus.
Rahul Gandhi will also walk on some stretches along the Yatra route. In the 15 states, it will cover 100 Lok Sabha constituencies and 337 assembly segments involving 110 districts.
The ‘Nyay Yatra’ will spend a maximum of eleven days in Uttar Pradesh where it will travel a distance of 1,074 kilometers covering 20 districts.
The 15 states that will be covered by the ‘Nyay-Yatra’ include Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.