New Delhi: After a string of electoral debacles, starting from Haryana to Maharashtra and recently in Delhi, the Congress high command has finally decided to crack the whip. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday told top party leaders that they will be held accountable for election results in the future and warned them against turncoats.
Addressing the new office-bearers at a meeting held at the Congress’ headquarters in Indira Bhawan, Mr Kharge urged party leaders to work at the grassroots level and strengthen the party from the booth level and promote people who are ideologically committed to the organisation. The marathon meeting of the party’s general secretaries and in-charges lasted almost seven hours at the new party office in the national capital.
“I want to talk to you about the most important thing of accountability. You all will be held accountable for revamping the organisations in states and for all future election results,” Mr Kharge told the office-bearers.
The Congress president said: “It is your responsibility to strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level from the booth to headquarters. You must bring in people who are ideologically committed and who have stood behind the party like a rock during difficult times.” He also hinted at some more changes in the organisation, saying some changes have already taken place and some more are in the offing.
Mr Kharge called for promoting people who are committed to the ideology of the Congress and “stand with us like a rock even in adverse circumstances”. “Sometimes while attempting to strengthen an organisation, such people are brought in haste who run away in difficult times. We must stay away from such people,” he told the party leaders.
In his inaugural address at the meeting, Mr Kharge said Delhi voted for change and lauded the efforts of the state leadership in putting up a good fight despite lack of resources.
At the meeting, the Congress presidents also flagged the issue of alleged “voter list manipulation” and claimed that it is happening on a large scale in elections. He noted that former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had also raised the issue in the Lok Sabha.
“All of you will realise that these days the names of our supporters are deleted from the voters list. Or the name is removed and added to the adjacent booth. New names are added by the BJP just before the election. This rigging has to be stopped at all costs,” the Congress chief asserted.
Mr Kharge pointed out that earlier the Chief Justice of India was also included in the selection committee of the Chief Election Commission (CEC) by the order of the Supreme Court, but the CJI was removed from the panel by the Modi government.
The Congress chief said the party leaders must raise issues of public interest in the next five years and strive to make the organisation emerge as the principal Opposition party in Delhi.
Hitting out at the BJP-led Central government, he said the Prime Minister failed to stop the insult of Indians deported from the USA.
“Despite Modi Ji’s visit, America is sending back Indian citizens handcuffed as before. Vegetarians were given non-vegetarian food. Our government also failed to protest this insult properly,” Mr Kharge alleged.
“America is also hurting us deeply in economic matters. They imposed a reverse tariff on us, but the Prime Minister did not even protest against it. They are forcibly imposing a loss-making deal on us, which our government is silently accepting. This is clearly an insult to India and the people of India,” the Congress chief claimed.
After the meeting, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the party discussed organisational matters and also matters related to the Election Commission. He further added that the AICC session will be held in Gujarat in the first week of April.
“We will launch the Samvidhan Bachao Yatra in every state, district and block… We also had a discussion on the strengthening of the DCCs… We have already announced that 2025 is the year of organisational reforms,” Mr Ramesh said.
On the Election Commission, the Congress general secretary said, “We believe that the gravest threat to Indian democracy comes now from the manner in which the EC is functioning. The manner in which the EC has been taken over by the PM and the Union home minister. All INDIA bloc parties are together on this. We will collectively articulate our position once the parliament reconvenes.”
