Sonia, Rahul to attend Nagpur rally on Apr 11

The Congress to conclude its year-long celebrations of 125th birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar

The Congress, led by its president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi, has planned a rally at Nagpur on April 11 to conclude its year-long celebrations of 125th birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

The rally has been planned in Nagpur to commemorate Deekshabhoomi, where Dr Ambedkar embraced Buddhism. The party’s top leadership is also expected to visit Deekshabhoomi and pay respects to the father of the Constitution.

Sources in the party said that in the backdrop of the high-decibel nationalism debate, the party’s top leadership is expected to make a definitive statement on the freedom of speech and nationalism besides focusing on Dalit issues, including the Rohith Vemula suicide.

“Given the occasion, the issue of the government’s attitude towards Dalits, including the recent stunt pulled off at Chavdar lake in Mahad, will be highlighted, the narrow RSS definition of nationalism and CM’s insistence that those who don’t chant ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ will also be addressed,” said a senior party leader.

He added that there had been a micro-level preparations for the rally to ensure people across the state come for it and the party expects a crowd of around 2 lakh.