We must fight diabolical campaign of BJP/RSS ideologically and expose their lies before public: Sonia Gandhi

Chairing a meeting of top party leaders to evolve a strategy for assembly elections in five states early next year, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said the party must redouble its fight for the victims of the Union government's "worst excesses".

Sonia Gandhi also expressed concern over the party's messages on key issues not percolating down to the grassroot cadres, and said there is lack of clarity and cohesion even among state leaders.

She also emphasised on the need for discipline and unity, saying that strengthening the organisation must override personal ambitions.

Former party chief Rahul Gandhi also attended the meeting of party general secretaries, in-charges and Pradesh Congress presidents at the AICC headquarters here.

The leaders have also come together to chalk out a strategy for the party's new membership drive and finalise the modalities for it. The drive is starting from November 1 and will continue till March 31 next year.

Stressing on training programmes for party workers, the Congress chief said it should be taken up on priority.

"The fight to defend our democracy, our constitution and the Congress party's ideology begins with being fully prepared to identify and counter false propaganda.

"We must fight the diabolical campaign of BJP/RSS ideologically. We must do so with conviction and expose their lies before the people if we are to win this battle," she said.

Noting that AICC releases important and detailed statements almost every day on issues facing the nation, Sonia Gandhi said, "But it is my experience that they do not percolate down to our grass root cadres at the block and district level. There are policy issues on which I find a lack of clarity and cohesion even amongst our state-level leaders."

Attacking the Modi government, she said it has sought to erode our institutions so it may evade accountability and has sought to undermine the core values of our constitution so it can hold itself to a lower standard.

It has questioned the very fundamentals of our democracy, she said.

"We must redouble our fight for those who are the victims of this government's worst excesses: our farmers and farm labourers, our youth fighting for jobs and opportunities, small and medium scale businesses, our brothers, our sisters with particular focus on the deprived," she stressed.

On the elections to five states, the Congress leader said our campaign must be founded upon concrete policies and programmes emanating from widespread discussions with all sections of society.

Assembly elections in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur are slated early next year.

You can read the Congress President's full statement here:

"Rahul ji, General Secretaries and In-Charges, PCC Presidents and friends,

You are all well aware of the CWC Meeting we had a few days back. I am sure you have read the three resolutions passed by the CWC and that they have been communicated and distributed in your states. Today's get-together is a follow-up to that meeting.

The detailed schedule for full-fledged organisational elections is already with you. The nation-wide Congress membership enrolment programme begins on November 1^st, 2021, and runs through till March 31^st, 2022.

I take this opportunity to emphasise to each one of the PCC Presidents, General Secretaries and In-Charges that new members are the lifeblood of any political movement. Young men and women across the nation seek a movement to give voice to their aspirations. It is our duty to provide them with a platform, as we have done for generations past.

You will have to ensure the proper printing and distribution of forms for every ward and village. You will have to identify and assign Congress leaders and office bearers, the task of going house to house, to enrol members in a transparent fashion. You must ensure the clear delineation of the responsibilities of these individuals at the state, district, block, ward and village level. This is a vital responsibility that you are entrusted with.

Training programmes for our workers are therefore an absolute necessity. You have received a circular from the AICC with regard to the organisation of such programmes at every level. I want to emphasise that you should take it on priority. The fight to defend our democracy, our Constitution and the Congress Party’s ideology begins with being fully prepared to identify and counter false propaganda.

We must fight the diabolical campaign of BJP/RSS ideologically. We must do so with conviction and expose their lies before the people if we are to win this battle. The AICC releases important and detailed statements almost every day on issues facing the nation. But it is my experience that they do not percolate down to our grass root cadres at the block and district level. There are policy issues on which I find a lack of clarity and cohesion even amongst our state-level leaders.

You must train our workers to take on the unceasing onslaught of malicious disinformation campaigns at the behest of the BJP/RSS. And you must train our people to fight it while upholding and projecting the core Congress ideology.

Our own history bears witness to the fact that if an organisation is to succeed against injustice and inequality, if it is to effectively champion the rights of the marginalised, it must become a widespread agitation down to the grassroots. The Modi Government has sought to erode our institutions so it may evade accountability. It has sought to undermine the core values of our Constitution so it can hold itself to a lower standard. It has questioned the very fundamentals of our democracy.

We must redouble our fight for those who are the victims of this government’s worst excesses: our farmers and farm labourers, our youth fighting for jobs and opportunities, small and medium scale businesses, our brothers, our sisters with particular focus on the deprived.

To make this promise truly meaningful, we must also make our organisation more representative of this cross-section of society.

Five states are going to election in the coming months. Congress party workers and leaders in these states are gearing up to take on these battles. Our campaign must be founded upon concrete policies and programmes emanating from widespread discussions with all sections of society.

Finally, I would like to re-emphasise the paramount need for discipline and unity. What should matter to each and every one of us is the strengthening of the organisation. This must override personal ambitions. In this lies both collective and individual success."

With PTI inputs