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Watch: Congress flag falls as Sonia Gandhi tries to unfurl it on party foundation day
The Indian National Congress (INC), which was formed on December 28, 1885, conducted its first session in Mumbai under the chairmanship of lawyer Umesh Chandra Banerjee.
The Congress tricolour fell off the flagpole as party president Sonia Gandhi tried to hoist it to mark the party’s 137th foundation day on Tuesday. The incident took place at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi.
As soon as Sonia Gandhi pulled the rope and looked up, the flag fell into her hands, a video posted by news agency ANI showed. The party workers were seen taking the flag from her but not before Gandhi along with party treasurer Pawan Bansal and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal held it in their hands and displayed it briefly.
Watch the video:
There were chants of “Congress party zindabad” in the background.
A Congress worker later climbed up the flagpole to string the party tricolour.
Senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mallikarjun Kharge were among those present at the party headquarters.
This year, the Congress faced factionalism in Punjab – one of the big states where it is in power. In Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh resigned as chief minister amid internal conflict and has now formed its own party to fight next year’s assembly polls in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Congress is gearing up anew for the 2024 General Elections and hopes to build momentum by performing well in the coming assembly polls.
The party is also trying to put the BJP-led government on the backfoot through country-wide agitations and demonstrations on issues such as price rise.
Congress has started a big training programme with a goal to prepare around 5,500 workers from state, district and block levels across the country. These trainers will drive the party's message on the ground through debates and discussions.
The first such training programme was held in Maharashtra’s Wardha in November this year where a five-day camp was organised. It was virtually addressed by Rahul Gandhi.
The Indian National Congress (INC), which was formed on December 28, 1885, conducted its first session in Mumbai under the chairmanship of lawyer Umesh Chandra Banerjee.
(With inputs from agencies)
