'Fight BJP Divisive Agenda, Defend Constitution,' Rahul Gandhi Tells Young Congress Leaders

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge urged the party’s younger leaders to vigorously challenge the BJP's divisive politics, uphold the Constitution, and work towards strengthening the party organisation.

New Delhi:Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge asked the party’s younger leaders to fight the BJP’s divisive politics strongly, defend the Constitution and strengthen the party organisation.

“Our leaders told us that we need to fight against the BJP’s divisive politics and work stridently to defend the Constitution. The Congress is a force that works for social transformation, while the saffron party represents social stagnation,” AICC functionary BM Sandeep told ETV Bharat.

Rahul and Kharge held their first interaction with around 75 newly-appointed AICC secretaries and joint secretaries, who have been appointed to strengthen the Congress and give key roles to the younger leaders, who will assist the various general secretaries in-charge of states.

The reshuffle in the AICC comes at a time when the Congress is preparing for the three states Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Haryana and UT J&K polls.

“This diverse team that has strong representation from marginalised sections of society, with its youthful exuberance and pan-India profile, will bring new fervour to the party functioning. I am confident that the new team will help the party grow from strength to strength and work with renewed passion in the days to come,” AICC functionary Qazi Nizamuddin, who has been moved from Rajasthan to Maharashtra, along with Sandeep, told ETV Bharat.

The grand old party is also trying to regain ground in Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring Chhattisgarh where the Congress could not perform well during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The party could not win any seat out of the 29 parliamentary seats in MP and it got only one seat out of the 11 in Chhattisgarh.

Since then both the state units led by PCC chiefs Jitu Patwari and Deepak Baij respectively have hit the streets to protest against the BJP governments. The story has been the same in Gujarat where the Congress could win just 1 out of a total of 26 parliamentary seats.

“We have been conducting the Jan Manch programme led by CLP leader Amit Chavda. The other senior state leaders have protested over various public issues recently. The entire state unit conducted a yatra to get justice for the victims of various tragedies,” AICC secretary in-charge of Gujarat Ram Kishan Ojha told ETV Bharat.

According to AICC functionary Sirivella Prasad, who has been moved from Tamil Nadu to Jharkhand, the induction of younger leaders shows the party’s commitment to the Udaipur Declaration and will help build the organisation.

“I will be visiting Jharkhand soon. The focus is on building up the organisation and preparing for the forthcoming elections. The INDIA bloc is doing well there and we need to work hard over the coming weeks,” Prasad told ETV Bharat.

Congress ally and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren of the JMM met Rahul Gandhi and Kharge during the day to discuss the alliance for the ensuing elections. Party MLA and Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren was also present. The meeting came in the wake of former chief minister and ex-JMM leader Champai Soren joining the BJP in a move which is being seen as a setback for the ruling alliance.