From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Congress Party’s 3-day “Nav-sankalp chintan shivir” will be kicked off with the opening remarks by its president Sonia Gandhi in Rajasthan’s Udaipur, a city of lakes and palaces, for introspection to launch the party with a new resolve.
At a time when India is passing through a period of democratic, economic and social “infections,” the Congress borm with resolves of the freedom is again looking for a “nav sankalp” (new resolve) to put the nation back on the path of progress, prosperity and development, said the party’s chief spokesman and general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, giving a curtain raiser of the Udaipur conclave at a Press conference here.
The Conclave will end on Sunday with a valedictory address again by Sonia Gandhi, followed by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet in Udaipur to adopt the decisions of the Chintan Shivir and release them.
Surjewala said the Udaipur shivir will discuss how the Modi government is drawing curtains on the glaring problems of the country by spreading the religious darkness to attack the minorities, specially the Muslims, Christians and Sikhs and sowing the seeds of Hindu-Muslim division.
In the elections now, development, roads, schools, hospitals, industries and agriculture growth are not the issues since the BJP has focused them on Smashan-Karistan, bulldozers, loudspeaker, division even in the name of food and dresse and unfortunately a big section of the Media is being used to spread the hatred and these are the big challenges before the people, Surjewala said.
He said the issues to be introspected in Udaipur are whether India be able to run the way the BJP wants, will India progress in this way, will India progress in this way, and will India’s future will be based on the religious, caste and economic divide.
Explaining why the Chintan (introspection) of the new resolve to fulfil the expectations of the people, he listed what ails India today:
— Economic disparity in which 142 rich people’s income swelled by Rs 30 lakh crore in a year while income of 85% people not only fell but their savings were looted instead of getting promised in 2014 Rs 15 lakh in their bank accounts;
— The Rupee’s value fell to the lowest in 75 years @ Rs 77.56 per American dollar while India’s debt shot up from Rs 55 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs 135 lakh crore in 2022 because of the Modi government borrowing Rs 4,000 crore every day that jacked up the debt of Rs 1 lakh on every citizen.
— Inflation has ruined the lie of people when the cooking gas cyllinder costing Rs 410 in 2014 gone up to Rs 1,000, petrol price shot up from Rs 71 a litre in 2014 to Rs 105.41 a litre, diesel from Rs 56 to Rs 95.87 a litre as the Modi government earned Rs 27 lakh crore through tax on petrol and diesel and the same is the case of the prices of floor, pulses, edible oils, vegetables, soap, toothpaste, TV, fridge and daily use items;
— Unemployment in the country is over 8% even while over 40 lakh posts are lying vacant in the Government of India, government companies and th state governments while 2.55 lakh vacancies not filled up in the Armed force while the small and mini industries are on the verge of closure while crores of jobs are lost; and
— the same is the plight of farmers, dalits and tribals whose reservations are being abolished, while China’s invasion on India’s borders continues while the Modi government has failed to drive them out, but taking credit by banning the Chinese Apps ignoring the import from China shooting up to US $97 billion.
Surjewala said Sonia Gandhi had set up six groups to prepare the documents on as many subject for discussion in the Chintan Shivir by some 430 party leaders over the next three days and the conclusions will be given the final touch by the CWC to give a new direction to the Congress from the current challenges and pave the way for a glorious India.
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