Sonia Gandhi inaugurates Indira Gandhi Bhawan, Congress’ new headquarters

NEW DELHI: Congress Parliamentary Party Chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday inaugurated the party’s new national headquarters at 9A, Kotla Road in the Capital.

The grand old party has been functioning for the past 47 years from 24, Akbar Road in the Lutyens Bungalow Zone. The new headquarters has been named Indira Gandhi Bhawan in honour of India’s first woman Prime Minister and stands as a tribute to the legacy of Congress stalwarts, the party said.

The event witnessed the participation of about 400 leaders from across India, including members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Presidents, Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Leaders, and Members of Parliament from both houses.

The plush five-storey building was inaugurated in the presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, and general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal, among other senior leaders.

Constructed by L&T and designed by eminent architect Hafeez Contractor, the new headquarter of the Congress narrates the tale of the party’s 139-year-old history with its walls adorning pictures from the freedom struggle to the party’s governance achievements.

The five principles of the Congress -- democracy, nationalism, secularism, inclusive growth and justice -- are inscribed on one of the walls of the building.

As one enters the building, the wall in front adorns the pictures of the party’s first president W C Benerjee and current chief Kharge. While BR Ambedkar’s picture with an inspirational quote adorns a wall, several other rare pictures showcasing India’s struggle for independence and the Congress leaders’ contribution are also put up across the five storeys.

From Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to Subhas Chandra Bose and from Rabindranath Tagore to Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, their contributions are highlighted. The party’s 139-year history is showcased throughout the building on the walls, in a unique blend of traditional and the modern.

Achievements of Congress prime ministers are also highlighted including Jawaharlal Nehru’s push for development of science and technology, Lal Bahadur Shastri’s support for ‘Kisan and Jawan’, Indira Gandhi’s nationalisation move and the 1971 win over Pakistan, Rajiv Gandhi’s peace pacts and IT revolution, P V Narasimha Rao’s opening up of the economy and Manmohan Singh’s welfare schemes.

The library in the building is named after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who passed away last month. The event saw party leaders hoist the party flag at the new headquarters and the singing of Vande Matram and the national anthem.