From calling BJP a private company to calling out ‘gaddars’ within: How Congress’s younger lot made itself heard at Ahmedabad meet

“Rahul Gandhiji did a padyatra from Kanyakumari till Kashmir and we saw a lot of people walking with him. But then, where did we fail? Our leaders work 24×7, day and night…but who wants them to fail? We need to introspect that first. We need to see who is the traitor (gaddar) among us, who wants our leaders to fail. The leaders talk about public (issues) but we do not achieve what we aspire for,” Chisti, the former Rajasthan President of State Mahila Congress stated in her address at the event held at Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad.

She further appealed to the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to remove all those elements from the Congress who do not want the party to move forward.

“I request Rahulji to remove all those who are not loyal to the Congress, those who do not want the party to move forward, those who are in the party’s state and district committees but think only about themselves but not the country. People follow you, the Congress ideology, the Gandhi family, but not any individual. We need to bring forward Congress workers… They are the ones who are the most humiliated but when time comes, they are sidelined. We have to take care of these workers. We need workers to make the Congress strong. We are not afraid of the BJP or the RSS, we are not scared of anyone,” she added.

Stressing on similar concerns, Gaurav Gogoi (42), Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, reiterated what Rahul Gandhi highlighted in his recent Gujarat visit – identifying people in the Congress who support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“I want to remind everyone that Rahul Gandhi, during his recent visit to Gujarat, said that people whose one foot is in the Congress and the other in some other party will be identified and should be removed. This is very important and the same thing I heard from you (Chisti) today,” Gogoi stated in his address.

He also said that loyal and hardcore Congress workers should be encouraged in order to win elections in states, including Gujarat.

“I want to put this in front of the Congress leadership that if we want to win state elections, we have to bring forward the hardcore Congressmen… those hardcore Congressmen who get beaten up by the police but still remain with the party, who have been threatened and scared and lured but didn’t leave the Congress’s side. I am confident that if we do this, we can win every state election,” he added.

Gogoi further said, “A Congress worker does not want anything but once you pat him on his shoulder, he will gather the strength to even be in the prison for a month. A Congress worker does not seek anything… If you just call him and ask him how he is doing, he will hoist the flag even in the extreme heat. We are like a family and we should not forget its values. I want to assure Congress workers in Gujarat that during the state election, the entire party will work with you. We will fight together and win.”

Geniben Thakor (49), the lone Congress MP from Gujarat, stated that the BJP has become a private limited company instead of a party for the public .

“Gujarat model is being talked about everywhere but it is mere talk. The highest number of malnourished children are in Gujarat, 50 per cent women are anaemic, the public schemes by the BJP are only aimed at corruption and not people. In the coming days, we will work together to make the Congress move ahead and win Gujarat elections in 2027,” Geniben said.

Echoing her sentiments, Gogoi said, “There is a difference in the BJP and the Congress’s organisation. While the BJP works like a private limited company, the Congress organisation is like a family. That is why I request Congress leaders that we have to build family-like relations with every worker.”

Highlighting the shortcomings of the party organisation, Alok Misra, a senior leader from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, said that more than the BJP, it is the infighting that is causing the Congress harm.

“The fight with the BJP comes later but it is the infighting among Congressmen, which needs to be addressed. I request that we should resolve not to get involved in infighting and take rest only after bringing the Congress to power,” he said.

Addressing Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, he said, “You say that you want to remove BJP people from the Congress, I want to ask you one thing: a city president whose one son is in the Samajwadi Party and the other in the BJP, is he even worthy of the post? Please make an announcement that city presidents will not contest elections but only work for the organisation. Else, every city president will be a candidate. We will leave from here (Ahmedabad) with the resolution to make the Congress win,” Misra stated.

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