New Delhi: The Congress party on Saturday announced a new public outreach programme called Haath se Haath Jodo that will start on Republic Day to highlight alleged misgovernance by the present regime, its first nationwide campaign ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections.
The Congress released a political “charge sheet,” a page of allegations against the central government. A similar document was produced against the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government during the 2003 no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.
The new campaign, Congress general secretaries KC Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh underlined, will be entirely political, unlike the Bharat Jodo Yatra that they said highlighted fundamental issues through a collective platform. While former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was the face of India’s longest ever foot march, the Haath se Haath Jodo campaign will start on the ground through the party’s state units.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra will end on January 29 in Jammu and Kashmir and on the next day at 10am, Gandhi will hoist the national flag in the party office in Lal Chowk in Srinagar, Venugopal said. All district committees of the Congress will hoist the national flag simultaneously. The event will be followed by a public meeting in Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar.
The new campaign to come along with haath (or hand, the election symbol of the Congress) will start on January 26 and will continue till March 26, Jairam said. The doorstep campaign will deliver a letter of Gandhi and the charge sheet to the people.
Calling the new campaign a “big follow-up programme for Bharat Jodo Yatra”, Venugopal said, “We initially decided for a two-month campaign, but due to the yatra and state elections, we have to extend the Haath se Haath Jodo programme.” The party will send observers across the states and a series of meetings will be held with state and district level leaders.
Hitting out at the government with the charge sheet, Venugopal said, “3.5 million Jobs have been lost in this country. In May 2014, the price of petrol was ₹71.41, diesel was ₹55.49 and crude oil price at that point of time was $105.71 per barrel. In January 2023, the price of petrol was ₹100. Now it has again increased. LPG, petrol and diesel prices are at an all-time high. Farmers are in a very difficult situation. All farmers during the (Bharat Jodo) yatra came and complained to Rahul Gandhi, “we cannot afford these petrol and diesel prices.”
Launching the logo for the new campaign, Jairam said, “The Haath se Hath Jodo campaign is the second phase of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. In the Bharat Jodo campaign, Rahul ji raised issues on the basis of ideologies, going above politics. It didn’t have much to do with the election. In the Haath se Haath Jodo campaign, our target is straight, the failures of the Modi government. Haath se Haath Jodo campaign is a 100% political campaign in a direct manner. The same cannot be said about the Bharat Jodo Yatra.”
In its charge sheet, the Congress accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of supporting a chosen few, trying to make only the party prosperous and betraying everyone. It highlighted the government’s inability to provide the promised 2 core jobs annually, demonetisation and poor implementation of the Goods and Services Tax regime that pushed 23 crore people to poverty, and the fuel price hike.
The list of charges also include a 500% rise in hate speeches, death of 700 farmers during protests against the now repealed three farm laws, and stopping certain scholarships. “BJP bought 300 plus MLAs/ MPs and toppled 7 governments,” the charge sheet said. “IT, ED and CBI silenced dissident voices.”