The Congress Working Committee is meeting in Belagavi where exactly a hundred years ago, Mahatma Gandhi became President of the Indian National Congress. He occupied this position for a year and continued to provide it moral and political leadership till his assassination in January 1948. He shaped and has remained a fundamental source of inspiration to the entire Party organisation.

The Congress Working Committee reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the values that defined Mahatma Gandhi’s entire life, to the causes he championed relentlessly and the ideals he upheld. It recalls that Mahatma Gandhi’s life was anchored in truth, non-violence, fearlessness and simplicity. It was dedicated to the gaining of political freedom along with profound societal transformation. India has achieved a great deal since independence. But even as our country has progressed impressively, his relevance has only become more significant. In our continued quest for deeper social and economic justice and growth with ecological balance, he continues to be a guide and a moral compass. In our continued pursuit of communal harmony and amity, without which economic advancement will have little meaning, he remains the exemplar.

The Congress Working Committee believes that it is ironic, even reprehensible, that those very ideologies that bitterly opposed him during his lifetime are now hypocritically invoking him. The patronage provided to his killers and their glorification in recent years reveals the true colours of these ideologies and institutions. The politics of polarisation and divisiveness is a rejection of the very essence of Gandhian beliefs.

The Congress Working Committee calls upon all Party workers to stand united and work tirelessly to protect, preserve and promote Mahatma Gandhi’s precious legacy.