Congress parliamentary group to meet today to frame strategy against Centre

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at a party briefing. (File image: Reuters)

Days before the Winter Session of Parliament, the Congress parliamentary strategy group will meet at party chief Sonia Gandhi’s residence later on Thursday, to discuss the issues that would be raised in the House.

The Winter Session of Parliament will begin on November 29 in the backdrop of the recent announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal the three farm laws and the Union Cabinet’s subsequent ratification of the Bill.

“We will raise the issue of inflation in the upcoming session of Parliament,” Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal told news agency ANI earlier.

We will raise the issue of inflation in the upcoming session of Parliament. Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group will meet in New Delhi on Nov 25 to finalize the strategy for the Parliament session: Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal pic.twitter.com/eeCzJchz6s

— ANI (@ANI) November 22, 2021

The Congress is also planning to take on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government by raising the issues of “COVID mismanagement” not only in the House but also in public forums. The chief ministers of Congress-ruled states will write to the Centre seeking compensation to COVID-19 victims, as per the news agency’s report.

The Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leaders of every state will also “write to their respective chief ministers” where Congress is not in power for the demand, the report said.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has already requested Modi to provide an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of COVID-19 victims. “Other chief ministers in Congress-ruled states will follow suite,” the report quoted a source as saying.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter on November 24 to kick off the ‘COVID Nyay campaign’. Sharing a 4-minute-30-second video featuring families of COVID victims, he demanded the central government to provide correct figures of the COVID-related deaths in the country and pay a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to families of those who died in the pandemic.