Cong plans Mission Modi must-go

The Congress will begin a high-voltage oust-Modi campaign in Gujarat from tomorrow which will see the 14 Congress chief ministers descending...

The Congress will begin a high-voltage oust-Modi campaign in Gujarat from tomorrow which will see the 14 Congress chief ministers descending on the state in turns to court arrest.

Starting with a relay hunger-strike at Sabarmati Ashram, Congress workers from all over the country will participate in 8216;8216;sadbhavana8217;8217; rallies and 8216;jail bharo8217; agitations in Gujarat.

Party sources said the relay hunger-strike would continue till May 21 and all senior leaders, including working committee members and chief ministers will take part in it. They will also offer themselves for arrest in the 8216;jail bharo8217; agitations.

It was felt at yesterday8217;s CWC meeting that the involvement of the senior leadership of the party was necessary to send a strong signal to the rank and file as well as the Sangh outfits that the Congress will not allow the Parivar8217;s communal agenda to deflect attention from the administrative failures of the Modi government.

Congress leaders pointed out that the fight in Gujarat is essentially political with the BJP falling back on its Hindu plank to bolster its fading poll prospects. The month-long agitational programmes will attempt to redraw the parameters of the battle in Gujarat and get it back to the political plane.

They will serve another purpose. The Gujarat unit of the Congress has been badly hit by the violence which has scarred its strongholds and the attempts to divide its traditional vote base of tribals, Dalits and Muslims.

Not only has the state unit been intimidated by VHP mobs, it also fears that there is a communal polarisation in Congress areas which may be impossible to fight.

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The party8217;s strategists hope that a political agitation will help its state unit to regroup and fight back. The presence of senior leaders of the party from different states is an important ingredient in this. It will help to boost the sagging morale of workers in Gujarat and give them confidence that the entire party is behind them.

Today in fact, various state units of the Congress took their cue from the CWC meet and joined the chorus for Modi8217;s removal. Statements came from Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi and the Andhra Pradesh PCC, both of which echoed the CWC announcement last night that Gujarat will not return to normal as long as Modi remained in office.