Office-bearers of the All India Congress Committee, as well as the state chiefs of the party, held a brainstorming session here on Monday to plan protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “failed policies” that the party held responsible for exam scams, farm distress and inflation.
A person who attended the three-hour session told The Telegraph that Lok Sabha Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi made it clear that the campaign should place the blame for the crises on multiple fronts “squarely on Modi’s failed policies”.
The source quoted Rahul as saying: “The CBSE marking fiasco or the NEET leak happened because of the policies of Modi that created these vulnerabilities. Prices are unbearable because of Modi’s deals with (US President Donald) Trump and his failed foreign policy....”
Rahul was said to also have referred to suicides by students and farmers. The source said the protests were expected to begin by next month. The timetable for these protests is yet to be finalised.
Congress communications head Jairam Ramesh said the discussions were focused on three broad areas — the blow to farmers from the US trade deal and other economic issues, the exam “scams”, and the “violation of the Constitution in scheduled areas in order to divert natural resources to crony
capitalists”.
General secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal told reporters: “On one hand, democracy is not there, on the other, common people are fighting for their livelihood.... The party is going to have a campaign all over India in the coming two-three months.”
He added: “This is not just at the national level, but also the state, district and block levels.... Also, wherever people are facing difficulties, the Congress has to go there and share their pain and fight for them.”
Given Rahul’s consistent questioning of the credibility of elections, The Telegraph asked Venugopal if boycotting polls was discussed. He replied: “No one said boycott. We are going to discuss... the fair elections issue in a detailed manner in the coming days.”
Referring to the trade deal with the US that is in the works, Ramesh said: “Maize, cotton, soya and apple farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh will be hit badly once the deal comes into force. We had started an agitation in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. We will start it again in the next two to three months.”
Ramesh weighed in: “In 2024, PM Modi had passed a law to counter paper leaks with great pomp and show. We had said then that passing laws after leaks have happened will not stop such leaks.... Rahulji said today that centralisation is the reason for these leaks.”