Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday declared that “victory will be ours” as she urged a 15,000-strong audience at the party’s plenary in Raipur to tackle the “regime with boldness and vigour”.
The senior leader, credited with bringing the party back to power for two consecutive terms in 2004 and 2009, expressed gratification that her political innings could conclude with the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra.
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“I had the honour of taking office as president for the first time in 1998. Over these 25 years, our party has seen times of high achievement as well as deep disappointment… Our victories in (the) 2004 and 2009 (Lok Sabha polls), along with the able leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh ji, gave me personal satisfaction, but what gratifies me most is that my innings could conclude with the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” she said.
She described the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir foot march as a “turning point”.
“It has proved that the people of India overwhelmingly want harmony, tolerance and equality. It has renewed the rich legacy of dialogue between our party and the people through mass-contact programmes. It has shown us all that the Congress stands with the people and is ready to fight for them,” she said.
Her comments were seen by some as alluding to her retirement from active politics, with the party issuing a quick clarification that Gandhi’s remarks were in the context of her tenure as party chief.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Chhattisgarh Kumari Selja said Gandhi’s speech was about the conclusion of her innings as the party president.
Sonia Gandhi was the Congress president from 1998 to 2017, when Rahul Gandhi took over. She again assumed the office when Rahul Gandhi stepped down in 2019.
Gandhi also congratulated Mallikarjun Kharge for his election as the new party chief and hoped that with his long political career, he would lead the younger generation in taking the party forward.
“The path ahead is not easy. But my experience, as well as the rich history of the Congress, tells me that victory will be ours. To achieve it under Kharge ji’s leadership, we must tackle the regime with boldness and vigour, and stand side-by-side with the people it attacks,” she said, in a veiled attack at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, which her party has accused of destroying government institutions and viciously targeting minorities.
“We must reach out to people, and convey our message with clarity and cohesion. We must work with discipline and timeliness, to respond quickly in this fast-paced age. Above all, we must be ready to put aside our personal expectations, make sacrifices, and work with unity and a sense of common purpose,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi, the Congress’ longest serving president, asked the All India Congress Committee plenary to remember the battles the party has won in the past and prepare for the challenges to come.
“Today, let us all remind ourselves of the battles our party has won in the past, and prepare ourselves for the battle to come. Let us remember that victory for the party is victory for the country, and for each and every one of us,” she said.
Gandhi described the current situation as challenging and drew a parallel with the time she entered politics.
“Then, as now, we faced a difficult struggle ahead. At this crucial time, each one of us bears a special responsibility towards our party and towards our country,” Gandhi said, arguing that the Congress is the vehicle for fighting for liberty, equality, fraternity and justice for all. “The Congress is not just a political party.”
In her speech, Gandhi, who has been the longest-serving president of the Congress, also congratulated her son, and party MP, Rahul Gandhi on the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Gandhi also lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP’s ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for relentlessly capturing and subverting the country’s institutions.
“It ruthlessly silences any voice of Opposition. It has caused economic ruin by favouring a few chosen businessmen at the expense of all others and of ordinary people. And most distressingly, it fuels the fires of fear and hatred against fellow Indians,” she said.
Gandhi accused the current dispensation of viciously targeting minorities and ignoring crimes and discrimination against them.
The current government is “against women, against Dalits and against Adivasis. It mocked Gandhiji, and through its words and actions shows its contempt for the values of our Constitution,” she said.
The two-day plenary has come ahead of a series of assembly polls including in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan this year.
Earlier in the day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed willingness to forge a viable alternative by bringing together like-minded parties and make “any sacrifices” required to defeat the BJP.
In his address, Kharge said the Bharat Jodo Yatra emerged as a strong voice against the unprecedented challenges that people face today.
“Such challenges include continuing assault on the constitutional values, democracy and social fabric of our country, issues of national security at the border with China, the prevailing atmosphere of hatred and fear, all-time high inflation, record unemployment and the increasing economic inequality,” he said.
“In the prevailing difficult circumstances, the Congress is the only party that can provide capable and decisive leadership to the country,” he said. From 2004 to 2014, the Congress-led alliance with like-minded parties effectively served the people of the country, he noted.
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“We once again look forward to forging a viable alternative by aligning with like-minded parties to defeat the anti-people and undemocratic BJP government. We are ready to strive for the welfare of the people of our country and (will make) whatever sacrifices that are required,” he said.
Kharge’s comments come days after he declared that a Congress-led government will come to power in 2024.
The BJP slammed Sonia Gandhi for her charge that its government has captured every institution.
BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the former Congress president’s speech reeked of desperation and lacked the realisation as to why the opposition party’s appeal has become so limited.
Repeated rejections by people have taken the opposition party to the depth of despair, he added. “There is no honest introspection at the Congress meet,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress workers laid flower petals on the street to welcome party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other leaders for the 85th plenary session on Saturday. Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel received Priyanka Gandhi at the airport.