Extracts of the Opening remarks of Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge in the Congress Working Committee Meeting on September 16, 2023.

Translated from Hindi

I extend you all a very warm welcome to this First meeting of the newly constituted CWC. The new CWC was formed on August 20, 2023, the first meeting of which is being held in this brimming city of Hyderabad on a historic occasion. I congratulate my friends from Telangana for this.

Hyderabad was liberated on September 17, 1948. This area became independent after 13 months of the country’s independence. Therefore, tomorrow we have a meeting of our extended CWC and a public meeting too. Our historic Congress ‘Maha-adhiveshans’ (General Conventions) have also been held in Hyderabad in 1953, 1968 and 2006.

On this occasion, I pay my respects to Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel Saheb, due to whose willpower, Hyderabad got its liberation. I remember all those Congress heroes here who struggled for a long time, endured torture in jails and sacrificed their lives.

Today, leaders from every part of the country are present in the meeting. It is the glimpse of our social fabric here.

Under the ‘Udaipur Resolution’, we have given more representation to the weaker sections, youth and women in our CWC.

There are all types of leaders present among us - There are some who have vast experience in organization and government, some have deep political and social experience and some have an extensive parliamentary experience.

In this meeting, first of all I express my special gratitude to the Congress Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, who led the Congress for more than 25 years. Sonia ji handled Congress during its difficult times in 1998. Her commitment, sacrifice and great thinking are a great inspiration for all of us.

Here I would like to add that Telangana, in the capital of which we are sitting today, was given a status of a state because of the efforts of Sonia ji.

We assure that soon our government will be formed in Telangana along with other states, through which we will fulfill the dreams of the people of Telangana.

I would also especially mention the 4,000 km long historic ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi Ji.

The poor, the deprived, the women, the youth, the farmers, the intellectuals, the soldiers and all sections of people participated enthusiastically in the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.

Through this yatra, Rahul ji raised the voice of the people and gave the message of love and brotherhood to them, which infused new energy to the Party. His words ‘Nafrat ke bazar mein mohabbat ki dukaan’ have become a voice of common people all over the world today.

Today in the CWC, I heartily congratulate all the leaders and workers of Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, who worked hard day-and-night and formed the government by battling all the opposing forces.

I also congratulate all the friends from Chhattisgarh who worked really hard in the historic Convention.

In today’s meeting, we will mainly consider the current political situation.

You know that the Indian National Congress has been playing a pivotal role as the principal opposition Party at the Centre for the last 10 years. Congress has also forced the Modi government to take many important decisions in the interest of the common people of the country.

The country is at crossroads today facing many internal challenges.

The entire world witnessed the heart-wrenching tragic events still unfolding in Manipur. Starting from May 03, 2023, violence continues there even today. Modi government allowed the fire of Manipur to reach Nuh in Haryana. Incidents of violence took place here due to which communal tension spread in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

These incidents tarnish the image of modern, progressive and secular India. In such a situation, the ruling parties, communal organizations and a section of the media add fuel to the fire. It spoils the ‘Sarvadharm Sambhaav’ of the country. We have to work together to identify such forces and keep exposing them.

Our economy is in grave danger today. Inflation and rise in prices of all essential commodities has endangered the lives of the poor and common people.

The price of an ordinary ‘thali’ has increased by 65% in the last 5 years. 74% people are deprived of nutritious food. The price of pulses has increased by 37% in a year. 65% of the population in our country comprises youth. The record unemployment is continuously trampling upon their dreams. The future of the youth is bleak.

There is a need to consider that today 40% of the country’s wealth is in the possession of the top 1% richest people, while the bottom 50% people have only 3% of the wealth. Due to the government policies, the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. The inequality gap is continuously deepening.

This is creating social dissatisfaction and tension. Such a condition puts a halt on the pace of social and economic progress.

The central government is manipulating all the data. 14 crore people were left out of Food Security Act and about 18% people were left out of MGNREGA because census was not conducted 2021. MGNREGA wages remain pending for months. We demand that the process of 2021 census should be started immediately. Along with this, caste census should also be conducted so that the needy section of the society can get other rights including Health, Education, Employment, Food Security and others.

The Modi government is handing over the prized PSUs of the country built since independence to a few crony-capitalist friends. Policies are being changed to benefit them and laws are being made in favor of their rights.

Recently, investment worth Rs. 20,000 crores was made by shell companies in the companies of businessmen close to our PM. Even after it was exposed, Modi government is not conducting any investigation. The government is silent and covering up all the big scams.

As part of Rahul Ji’s extended ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, local leaders of Ladakh told him how China is occupying the Indian part. But Modi government is continuously giving clean-chit to China. Such carelessness towards national security is highly condemnable.

Recently, a terrible natural tragedy occurred in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Our demand is that by declaring it a national disaster, the Central Government should provide necessary help and cooperate in reconstruction.

Many states are grappling with drought. The Indian government should move away from its politics, and instead, help farmers and laborers. Whenever opposition parties raise these basic issues, instead of giving answers, the government adopts new tactics and comes up with empty slogans like ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, ‘5 trillion economy’ ‘New India 2022’ and ‘Amritkaal’.

Now-a-days, the government is trading on the dream of ‘3rd largest economy’. The country will not progress through slogans. We will have to explain to the public that these slogans are a smokescreen to hide government’s failures. The government thinks that it will successfully hide the failures like ‘Himalaya’ by spending crores of rupees on events and advertisements.

You all know that from September 18, the Modi government has called a special session of Parliament for 5 days. After a long suspense, a few things have come up as agenda - the main one being the government’s complete control over the Election Commission. But we will have to be cautious about the intentions of the ruling party. This government wants a parliament without opposition. It does not want any MP, media or common people to ask questions.

The success of our Alliance’s 3 meetings can be gauged from the attacks of our PM and BJP leaders. As our caravan progresses, their attacks will intensify. After the Mumbai meeting of the ‘Alliance’, the government has deployed ED, IT, CBI, to take political revenge from the opposition leaders. This is against the spirit of healthy democracy. But sadly enough, this is the ‘Reality’. We all are seeing how the government is engrossed in self-praise after the event of G-20. Rs. 4,000 crores were spent in Delhi on the rotational G-20 meeting and now Brazil has got the leadership of G-20 in rotation.

In this regard, I would like to quote a few lines from Pandit Nehru’s speech at the Hyderabad Convention of 1953, which shows that right from that period itself, what status had started to develop for India in the world. He had said, “Although we neither have any big military power nor any good economic or financial power, yet the respect of this country in the panchayat of nations is increasing day-by-day. It has been 5 years since independence, but in such a short time, India has gained a lot of respect and along with it, new responsibilities have emerged. There is hardly any example in history of a country that has achieved such importance within five years of independence.”

Still, I hope that the Modi government will stop celebrating and focus on public concerns and burning issues.

In the Extended CWC Meeting tomorrow, we will discuss in detail about Telangana and other states and Lok Sabha Elections to chart out our strategy.

We will have to carry some concrete decisions from here. We have to send a message for future politics to crores of friends from Kashmir-to-Kanyakumari and from Kutch-to-Kohima. I would like to appeal to the colleagues present here to keep their views brief. If a friend has already said something, then do not repeat it.

It is important that confidentiality is maintained within the Party to ensure that our internal discussions remain within the Party’s domain and do not become public. Jai Hind!

Spoken in English

Now, for the convenience of the members from non-Hindi speaking states, I would reiterate a few important points in English as well. I extend you all a very warm welcome to this First Meeting of the newly constituted CWC in this brimming city of Hyderabad.

Indian National Congress has been playing a pivotal role as the principal opposition party at the Centre for the past nine-and-half years with committed determination in redressing concerns and grievance of the common people.

The country is at crossroads today facing many internal challenges.

Modi Government has been a complete failure on all important fronts- in controlling inflation, unemployment, raging violence in Manipur, widening inequality and declining condition of farmers and labourers.

The entire nation is witnessing the tragic events still unfolding in Manipur. Modi government allowed the fire of Manipur to reach Nuh in Haryana. These incidents tarnish the image of modern, progressive, and secular India.

Our economy is in grave danger today. Inflation and rise in prices of all essential commodities has adversely affected the lives of the poor and common people. To add to the sorrows, a young country like ours is facing the grave challenge of record unemployment. The inequality gap is continuously deepening. On top of this, the Modi government is handing over the prized PSUs of the country built since independence to a few crony-capitalist friends. There is also an urgent need to provide relief to the people affected by natural calamities like floods and droughts.

On the national security front, the Government’s alleged negligence regarding China’s encroachments poses a critical danger to the country’s security. However, ignoring all these fundamental issues, Modi Government has this tendency to repeatedly deflect and divert attention from real issues with empty slogans. The slogans like ‘Atma-nirbhar Bharat’, ‘5-Trillion Economy’, ‘New India 2022’, ‘Amritkaal’ and now, ‘3rd largest economy’ are merely hollow words meant to distract the nation from the Government’s failures.

The Indian National Congress also re-emphasizes its commitment to protect the Constitution of India, the country’s democracy, and the rights of the marginalized communities. Being the main Opposition Party of India, it is our responsibility to be the voice of the people.

Today 27 INDIA parties stand together on fundamental issues of importance. After three successful meetings, the INDIA Alliance is forging ahead to combat the anti-people and anti-democratic BJP Government.

Perturbed at this development, the BJP Government is resorting to vindictive action against Opposition parties. We also strongly condemn the Government’s attempts to stifle opposition in Parliament and curtail public scrutiny in the Parliament. The forthcoming Special Session of Parliament raises concerns about the ruling party’s intentions.

At the end, I would like to add that it is important that confidentiality is maintained within the party to ensure that our internal discussions remain within the party’s domain and do not become public.

I will speak in detail on the organizational issues surrounding the upcoming Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha elections tomorrow in the Extended CWC Meeting. I welcome and thank you all again! Jai Hind!