Cong announces campaign against ‘attack on Constitution’, price rise
Belagavi (Karnataka): The Indian National Congress has unveiled an ambitious 13-month-long political campaign to address pressing national issues, including the alleged undermining of the Constitution, rising corruption, and soaring prices. This initiative was announced on Thursday during the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, named the ‘Nava Satyagraha Baithak,’ held in Belagavi to commemorate 100 years since Mahatma Gandhi assumed the party’s presidency at the Belgaum session.
Key decisions taken at the meeting included the adoption of two significant resolutions—one dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and the other a political resolution addressing current national challenges. Prominent Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Rahul Gandhi, and general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal, were present to chart the party’s future course.
K C Venugopal, Congress General Secretary in charge of the organisation, outlined the campaign’s blueprint, stating that the initiative would include ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, and Jai Samvidhan Abhiyan,’ a series of padayatras, rallies, and grassroots-level activities. This campaign, running from December 27, 2024, to January 26, 2026, aims to highlight issues such as the erosion of constitutional values and the public’s mounting concerns over economic hardships.
Venugopal also announced that 2025 would be a year of extensive organisational revamping at all levels, emphasising accountability and leadership capability. “This massive overhaul will strengthen the party’s foundation, from the booth level to the top leadership,” he said.
The campaign will culminate in an All India Congress Committee (AICC) session in Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace, in April 2025.
The session will serve as a platform to renew the party’s commitment to Gandhian values and its fight against perceived threats to democracy.
In its political resolution, the Congress accused the BJP-led government of undermining democratic institutions and constitutional principles. The resolution highlighted Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s alleged “denigration” of Dr B R Ambedkar in Parliament as part of the RSS-BJP’s “decades-long project to undermine the Constitution.” The CWC reiterated its demand for Shah’s resignation and an apology to the nation.
The resolution expressed grave concern over what it described as the “degradation of democracy,” pointing to the politicisation of institutions like the judiciary, the Election Commission, and the media. It condemned the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill, describing it as an attack on the Constitution’s federal structure.
Additionally, the CWC criticised the recent amendment to the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, which it claimed undermines electoral transparency. The party has challenged these changes in the Supreme Court, emphasising their potential to erode the integrity of elections.
The Congress expressed deep concern over rising communal and ethnic violence, particularly in Manipur, which has been grappling with unrest since May 2023. The resolution criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s continued indifference to the situation and his failure to visit the troubled state.
The party also condemned the deliberate stoking of communal tensions in regions like Sambhal for political gain and reaffirmed its commitment to the Places of Worship Act, 1991, to protect India’s secular fabric.
On social justice, the CWC demanded the early conduct of a socio-economic caste census and called for increasing the 50% ceiling on reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. The party emphasised the need for reservations to be based on social, economic, or educational backwardness, determined through appropriate assessments.
The CWC’s resolution highlighted the Modi government’s economic policies, accusing it of favouring select business groups while neglecting the broader population. The party noted the rising cost of essential commodities and a slowdown in economic growth, which it attributed to crony capitalism.
The Congress demanded immediate measures in the upcoming Union Budget to provide income support to the poor and tax relief for the middle class. It also urged the government to address the neglect of agriculture and rural employment by legally guaranteeing Minimum Support Prices (MSP) and increasing funding for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). On national security, the Congress criticised the government’s handling of the disengagement with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh, describing it as a “territorial setback” that falls short of restoring the April 2020 status quo. The party called for a full parliamentary discussion on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The resolution also condemned attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh and urged the Indian government to collaborate with Bangladesh’s interim government to ensure their safety.
