CWC meet: Kharge accuses BJP of creating communal divide, vows to confront 'conspiracy' against national heroes

Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for creating a communal divide in the country to divert attention from the basic  issues. Speaking at the inaugural session of ongoing Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet in Ahmedabad, the Congress president accused the RSS-BJP of running a well-planned conspiracy against national icons.

Kharge began by marking the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi's presidency in the Congress, a milestone from the 1924 Belagavi Congress in Karnataka, where Gandhi took charge. The Congress celebrated this historic moment on December 26 in Karnataka.

The Congress president pointed out how three monumental figures from Gujarat had globally elevated Congress: Dadabhai Naoroji, Mahatma Gandhi, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel - each a former Congress president. Gandhi, Kharge emphasised, gifted the nation the potent weapons of truth and non-violence, philosophies that no power can ever subdue.

Additionally, Kharge sharply criticised the irony that today, those aligned with the RSS - an organisation Patel had banned due to its ideological differences - are attempting to claim his legacy. He also highlighted the pivotal role Congress played in ensuring Dr BR Ambedkar's place in the Constituent Assembly, a point Dr Ambedkar himself acknowledged in his final speech in 1949.

He reminded the CWC of the hypocrisy in the RSS's historical stance, noting how, when the Constitution was finalised, the organisation fiercely opposed it, even burning effigies of key leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, and Ambedkar. He pointed out how the Modi government insulted these great figures by relegating their statues to obscure corners of Parliament.

Earlier today, Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar termed the CWC meeting and All India Congress Committee (AICC) session as a "turning point" for the party.  Elaborating further, Karnataka Congress president said that this year the party will focus on organisation by giving more power to district and block leaders, and that there will be a "complete revamp" of the party.

According to media reports, the Congress leadership is actively exploring a more defined, and potentially elevated, role for Priyanka Gandhi with the party involved in crucial deliberations in Ahmedabad.The two-day event (April 8-9) holds significant historical weight, as the last Congress convention in Gujarat was held in Bhavnagar back in 1961 - the first such event in the state post-independence.