Raipur: As Congress’ 85th plenary session concludes, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday hurdled a scathing attack at the Centre over the Adani issue.
The 85th plenary session of Congress was being held in Raipur.
Addressing the gathering on the third and final day of the session, Kharge said, “Few people are looting the property of this country. Modi ji is giving our money and property to one person. Adani has been made so big that he become as fat as an elephant…”
Pertinent to mention, a report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others.
According to the statement, the Adani portfolio and the Adani verticals are focused on bringing India into the global economy and nation-building. In the summary of the long response by Adani Group, it said the report was “nothing but a lie”.
The report triggered a sell-off of shares of all Adani Group companies.
However, the Adani group had termed the report “nothing but a lie”.
The Congress chief further attacked the Centre over the border issue with China.
“Giving a clean chit to China, we targeted ourselves. We have degraded the relations with the neighbouring country. We keep on highlighting the mistakes committed by the government. Every worker of the party will fight till last breath for the constitution of the country,” he added.
He said the speech of former party president Sonia Gandhi was motivating and enthused new energy in party workers.
After serious delegation, Kharge said several important decisions and proposals were passed in the session.
“We took historic decision of keeping 50 per cent seats in CWC for women, ST, SC and youths. The meaning of Congress is patriotism, sacrifice, serving and dedication, fearlessness and discipline,” he said.
He said the fight against the ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will be intensified.
“Caste-based census is necessary and the one was carried out by our government was not published yet. National Education Policy is the policy of RSS and we are against it. They are trying to give the education of Manusmriti,” Kharge said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said, “During elections, issues not relevant to the public are raised. Politics should be on how to tackle unemployment, strengthen GDP, take up our economy. BJP conducted raids on us but we are standing strong.
“It is our job to give a platform to those people who are watching the politics of the country and understand that something is going wrong. It is our job to raise their voice. On the other hand, it is our job to tell and explain this to those people who are not understanding this. This is a huge responsibility,” she added.
Congress called for five action from Raipur plenary session.
In a statement, Congress said lakhs of citizens, including workers of the party, walked 4,000 km from Kanyakumari to Kashmir with Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Yatra took forward an inclusive and progressive vision of India where Constitutional values reign supreme.
“In celebrating diversity, equality and fraternity, it presented a clear alternative to the BJP’s vision of India. In a few months, we will be celebrating the centenary of the Seva Dal, a crucial grassroots organisation of Congress workers. This will be an occasion to impart fresh energy into our mass contact programmes,” the statement said.
Congress said it is the only party that has never compromised with the BJP and RSS and its “despicable politics.”
“We will always fight to protect our political values against the BJP’s authoritarian, communal and crony capitalist onslaught. We are prepared to work with like-minded political parties on the basis of a common, constructive programme to preserve and protect the Constitution in letter and spirit and to address the three main challenges facing the country: growing economic inequality, intensifying social polarisation and deepening political dictatorship,” the statement said.
Congress asked party leaders and workers to work with discipline, solidarity and complete unity to ensure victory in important state elections in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana this year. “The results of these elections will set the tone for the all-important 2024 Lok Sabha election,” the statement said.
The party said its governments in Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan are models for the rest of the country.
In the decade from 2004-2014, Congress delivered the highest ever GDP growth, pulled crores of Indians out of poverty, and introduced many transformational rights-based legislations, such as MGNREGA, Forest Rights Act and National Food Security Act, the party said.
“The time is now ripe for a new vision to empower the nation’s producers and reboot the economy. MSMEs that have been destroyed in the last eight and a half years must be revived and made the engine of rapid growth and employment, through cluster-based skill development programmes for the youth, and dedicated funding and technological support for labour-intensive manufacturing. GST must be drastically simplified and significantly improved for the benefit of small businesses and traders, and GST compensation for states must be extended for another five years,” the statement said.
It further stated that agricultural policies and reforms must be reoriented to place farmers and farm workers at the centre, and not only production goals. Farmers must be safeguarded through measures such as debt relief and legally guaranteed MSP. To ensure the fruits of rapid growth benefit all sections of society, Sampoorna Samajik Suraksha must be introduced, especially a women-centric NYAY programme and a Universal Right to Health Act. To cement the foundations of social justice an immediate Caste Census is critical.
“India awaits a reinvigorated Congress and we owe it to the people to fulfill their expectations. Crores of workers of the Congress party must build on the momentum of the Bharat Jodo Yatra to defeat the divisive forces of the BJP and RSS. A mass awareness campaign will be launched against the crudest example of crony capitalism which the entire country and the world is seeing. We end the Raipur plenary with a renewed resolve and common purpose to build a stronger and united India,” added the Congress statement.
