Congress is standing for the welfare of all - to solve their problems. It will be with you in the future: Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge

Extracts of the concluding speech of Congress President, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge addressed at the AICC Meeting in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on April 09, 2025.

Our leaders present on this stage, respected Smt. Sonia Gandhi Ji, Rahul Gandhi Ji, those sitting on the stage and especially Shakti Singh Gohil Ji who played a big role in organizing this meeting and all our workers from Gujarat and the CLP leaders, MLAs, MPs, I thank everyone for putting in all their efforts and strength to make this program a success, so I thank them all on behalf of the AICC. Brothers, I do not want to say much. Whatever I had to say, our Rahul Gandhi Ji clarified it and told us how we should move forward and how Modi Ji, BJP, RSS are ruining this country, he also put it in front of you. Friends, if any organization has to move forward, it needs three things. One- you should have ideas, that ideology... ideas, conduct and propaganda- the organization which has these three things, that organization moves forward. So, we have the ideology, we try to bring it into practice, but we do not do it wholeheartedly. That is why along with ideas, conduct and moving forward and after both of these, the third thing is propaganda... the most important thing is propaganda. If you have good ideas, your conduct is also good, if it is not promoted then what is the use? As Rahul Gandhi ji took out a grand yatra, I said this in the morning - from Kanyakumari to Kashmir... it was a lot of hard work. But if there are no people to take it forward, then the ideology fails right there. That is why I want that those who have come here should try to take that ideology forward, their ideas, the ideas of Congress.

The second thing I want to tell you is... any organization should have three more things. First- human power, second- mental power, third- economic power. Now we have less economic power, but we have more human power and mental power, there is a need to increase it. If you do not take this mental power forward, if you do not strengthen the human power, that is the organization, then you are finished.

In the end I would like to say this- we have just made a resolution for the Wakf Board and I want to assure you that the Congress Party will always stand with our Muslim brothers, Christian brothers, minorities, no matter which community they belong to. We are fighting for you and we fought in the Parliament as well, as Rahul Gandhi ji said, he fought strongly in the Lok Sabha as well. We fought in the Rajya Sabha as well and we have reached this far, we weakened the power of the BJP and we thought that we would have 81 votes in the Rajya Sabha, but our alliance partners and people of the India alliance, despite 4-5 people being absent, we got 97 votes... this is more than expected. This shows that the Congress and India alliance has gained momentum and this is because today you can see that we all united on the Wakf issue. We joined others with us, but not even a single vote of ours went to anyone else.

That is why, I would like all of us to give importance to the India Alliance that we have prepared, along with that we have to move forward unitedly and I would like to say one more thing, as Rahul ji just said that the work of usurping the property of Muslims or minorities is going on in Waqf. Because whatever property is there in Waqf Board, whoever donates to Waqf Board, Muslims, Hindus and people of any religion can donate. Waqf, this is a donation board, no one can snatch the land donated to it, that is why we wanted that there should be no non-Muslims in Waqf Board. As there were always Muslims in Waqf Board, this time also only Muslims should stay in it, this is what we said there. Because no Muslim is found in Hindu Temple (management), or no one else is found in Gurudwara (management).

Leave this aside, what Rahul ji told that after visiting a temple of our opposition leader in Rajasthan, he poured Gangajal there after coming out. You pour Gangajal after a Hindu enters the temple. First tell me how many Dalits you have made trustees. When you do not put untouchables, backward people, extremely backward people in the trust of Hindu religions, what right do you have to put non-Muslims in the Wakf Board of Muslims, I want to ask this and we spoke a lot for this. The debate went on till 4-4.30 in the night, voting happened, we voted on every clause and our people, all our MPs, Rajya Sabha members, opposed this bill with all their might and even today we want the government to withdraw that bill. This was our aim, that is why we were fighting.

We do not need to learn from others, we ourselves are committed people, Congress is a committed Party. Be it Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi, they fight for the unity of the country and have sacrificed their lives for the unity of the country in the same house. Indira Gandhi died after taking 25 bullets for the unity of the country and Rajiv Gandhi died for the same unity and you want to test us! No, we are always with the poor, with the minorities, with the backwards, with the untouchables, with the Dalits and whoever is poor, belongs to any community, any caste, be it upper caste or lower caste, Congress is standing for the welfare of all - to solve their problems. It will be with you in the future.

That is why I will only say this much - support us, we will work together and if everyone supports the Congress Party, then in the upcoming elections in Gujarat, our Party will definitely form the government here. This is not an exaggeration. When Rahul Gandhi ji came here... 10 years ago, the effort he made, we lagged behind in the assembly by only 7-8 seats. This is it and we have the intention to get those 7-8 seats this time... we have the intention to work together, uniting everyone. That is why I will say the same to the people of Gujarat - move ahead. Shakti Singh, show your strength and take everyone along and we are with you, everyone will work together, Rahul ji is with you, Madam Sonia Gandhi ji is with you, I am with you. Unite the people, we will move ahead. Thank you, Namaskar. And in the end, I will give a ‘Jaikaar’.

Jai Hind, Jai Congress. Thank you all. You made this AICC session successful. I conclude my speech by thanking you once again. Jai Hind!