Belagavi: As part of the centenary celebrations of the historic 1924 Belagavi Congress session, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Belagavi on Thursday passed two major resolutions aimed at strengthening the party and launching a major political campaign.
The CWC also reiterated its demand for Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation and also sought an apology from him to the nation for his recent statement about Ambedkar in Parliament.
Key resolutions include an organizational restructuring program to begin immediately and a 13-month long nationwide campaign titled “Jai Bapu-Jai Bhim-Jai Samvadhan Abhiyan”, which will run from the booth level to the national stage. The campaign will also feature the AICC session scheduled for April 2025 in Gujarat.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal announced that 2025 would be dedicated to a comprehensive reorganization of the party.
“The year 2025 will be marked as an organizational restructuring program (organization creation program) for the Congress. We will assess leadership accountability at every level, from the booth to the top leadership. There will be a deep assessment of capabilities, and we will implement a comprehensive overhaul of our organization,” Venugopal said.
Speaking about other resolutions, Venugopal revealed plans for an extended 13-month campaign starting on December 27, 2024 and ending on January 26, 2026.
“Taking inspiration from this centenary session, ‘Jai Bapu-Jai Bhim-Jai Samvadhan Abhiyan’ – a grassroots to national level campaign will be launched. It will include walks, public meetings, seminars and rallies at village, block, district and state levels,” he said. .
Venugopal emphasized that the campaign will address several pressing issues.
“This campaign will highlight the daily struggles of the common man, including attacks on the constitution, degradation of values, price hike and corruption. It will be the most comprehensive political campaign ever undertaken by a single party,” he added.
As part of the campaign, the Congress will hold an AICC delegate conference in April 2025 in Gujarat, birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. Venugopal said, “Mahatma Gandhi spoke of love and affection for community. This country still needs that spirit. At the CWC meeting, more than 50 leaders engaged in detailed discussions, culminating in these two resolutions.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge posted details of the meeting on his X account.
“The Indian National Congress will launch the Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvadhan campaign, starting with a rally in Belagavi on December 27 and concluding with a rally in Mahu on January 26, 2025, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution. The founding of our Republic,” Post said.
“In this month rallies and rallies will also be held in every block, district and state. Keeping in view the need to preserve, protect and promote the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi as well as the Constitution, this movement will be held on January 26th, 2025, as well as on January 26th, 2025 and January 26th, 2026. In between, the Indian National Congress will launch a massive, nation-wide propaganda campaign called the Save the Address Rashtriya Padayatra In which all the leaders will participate, the walk will be from village to village as a relay. Finally, the AICC session will be held in Gujarat in the first half of April 2025.
The CWC reiterated its demand for the resignation of the Union Home Minister and an apology to the nation for his statement about Ambedkar.
The CWC also raised the issue of what it defined as the erosion of democracy due to the politicization of institutions such as the judiciary, the Election Commission and the media under the pressure of the executive and the unprecedented obstruction in the proceedings of the Parliament. 2024 by the Treasury Benches in the recently concluded Winter Session.
The CWC condemned the Centre’s amendment to the Election Rules, 1961 Code of Conduct.
The meeting expressed concern over the increasing attacks on minorities in Bangladesh and asked the central government to work with the interim government of Bangladesh to ensure their safety.
It also criticized the foreign minister’s announcement on the disengagement in Ladakh, saying it fell short of restoring the status quo of April 2020 and demanded a full debate in Parliament on the LAC status.
Domestically, the CWC highlighted growing communal and caste hatred targeting minorities with reference to incidents in Manipur and Sambhal, and condemned the Congress leadership’s crackdown on dissent in BJP-ruled states such as Assam and Uttar Pradesh.
The committee has demanded socio-economic caste census, income support for the poor, tax exemption for the middle class, immediate corrective measures in agriculture, legal guarantee of MSP at 50 percent more than the cost of farming. It also called for increased funding for MGNREGA, raising wages to Rs 400 per day.