Alleging that the BJP government has moved from “vote chori” (vote theft) to “seat chori” (seat theft), the Congress on Thursday announced a nationwide agitation against issues such as price rise, unemployment, paper leaks, and issues related to farmers.
The decision was taken after a three-hour-long meeting of Congress’s top leadership, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, general secretaries, and state unit chiefs.
“We are going to start a national movement in two to three months. We will have national agitation at all levels — state, national, and district,” K C Venugopal, Congress general secretary, said at a press conference after the meeting.
“We also discussed the economic crisis. Fuel prices are increasing… Unemployment is at its peak… Students are struggling. Every family is worried…Price rise, unemployment, and paper leaks are the main issues of the country…There is no moral responsibility from the government,” said Venugopal.
He slammed the double standards in the election process after the nomination of Congress candidate in Madhya Pradesh, Meenakshi Natarajan, was rejected by the Election Commission, while NDA-backed Independent Rajya Sabha candidate Parimal Nathwani’s papers were accepted despite errors. “We will fight this politically and legally,” said Venugopal. He also dismissed Congress-TMC merger talks as baseless.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communication, who was also present in the press conference, said that the BJP’s dream to get a two-thirds majority in this Lok Sabha will not be fulfilled. “Their ego was hurt after the Bill on Delimitation was defeated in the House. That is why they are doing all this – getting MPs from other parties. Whatever the Home Minister may do, the BJP will not get a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha for getting the Delimitation Bill passed,” Ramesh said.
