The Congress on Thursday said that the road map to be emerged from party’s Chintan Shivir in Udaipur will “provide a way forward” to tackle the current challenges and also “pave the way for a resilient, strong and inclusive nation”.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi will inaugurate the three-day Chintan Shivir on Friday afternoon and party leader Rahul Gandhi will address the delegates on May 15. The party has also organised a rally for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Udaipur on May 16 with an eye on the Rajasthan assembly elections due next year.
“We know that India expects us to review our organisational dexterity, capacity, capability, but also to adapt ourselves to the current situation and challenges,” said Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.
In an interview with PTI, senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot said the Congress is and will have to remain the “pivot” around which an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition is formed and a “UPA plus plus” formation would be the “best one” to take on the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
“Regional parties have a very important role to play and we have to work together to ensure that in 2024, we are able to defeat the NDA. The results of the five state polls were obviously a setback for all of us and it means that we have to work even harder and as Mrs (Sonia) Gandhi said at the CWC that there has to be a collective resolve of sacrifice and of making sure that we continually interact with the people,” he said, adding that the Congress has to remain the “central pillar” around which other forces can collate.
{{/usCountry}}“Regional parties have a very important role to play and we have to work together to ensure that in 2024, we are able to defeat the NDA. The results of the five state polls were obviously a setback for all of us and it means that we have to work even harder and as Mrs (Sonia) Gandhi said at the CWC that there has to be a collective resolve of sacrifice and of making sure that we continually interact with the people,” he said, adding that the Congress has to remain the “central pillar” around which other forces can collate.
{{/usCountry}}Surjewala said India is “enduring a painful and vicious assault on its democracy, economy and societal harmony”. “The Congress was born out of a determined struggle to liberate India and its people from the shackles of oppression, discrimination, bigotry and the policy of divide and rule,” he added.
The Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir will set time-bound steps to overhaul the organisation and approve mass protests against the NDA government and its policies for the next two years.
Underlining the significance of the Chintan Shivir, Surjewala pointed out high fuel price rates, inflationary pressure on households, flight of capital and the economic mismanagement.
“The everyday life of the common man has been made hell by back-breaking price rise. A domestic gas cylinder, which cost ₹410 in 2014, now costs ₹ 1,000. In 2014, price of petrol was ₹71/litre, it has now ballooned to ₹105/litre; the price of diesel was ₹56/litre and it has now crossed ₹96.67/litre. As the Modi govt earned ₹27 lakh crore by taxing petrol and diesel, what did the people get?” he claimed.
The party will discuss various issues under six broad heads such as organisation, political issues, economy, farmer and farm workers’ issues, youth and employment, and social justice.