The Indian National Congress is planning to organise a massive people gathering at the capital of Odisha, Bhubaneswar, on 11 July 2022. The visit of the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is the first after the 2024 general elections and is aimed at mobilising the party base and fighting such key issues against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the program information that was conveyed at a press conference at the Congress Bhawan, where Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das disclosed the program particulars.
One-Day Timetable of Arrival of Gandhi
The leaders will leave Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar, at 11 a.m. on 11 July, and party workers will line up to receive them on the way to Baramunda Ground, the targeted venue. It will start at 12 noon, with addresses by Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and K. C. Venugopal on constitutional integrity, farmer battles, and tribal rights. Following the rally, Gandhi will meet two delegation groups of farmers to discuss unresolved shortcomings in crop procurement, among other issues of the farmers, which indicates the interest of the Congress in the rural parties of Odisha.
Discussions after Strategy Rally
Later in the afternoon, one will see Gandhi and Kharge chairing state Political Affairs Committee meetings that will be held at the Congress Bhawan. The latter will then address Odisha legislators and OPCC functionaries. The party officials are to leave for Delhi at 5 p.m., completing the day of a big activity aimed at inspiring and rallying the Odisha unit.
Congress Slams BJP on Its Administration
In the same press conference, Das, along with other senior leaders, made biting statements about the central and state governments of the BJP. He blamed the Modi government for compromising the constitutional structure of India and termed the first year of the BJP rule in Odisha as undermining public faith. The state government was also criticised by the OPCC president over the cultural issues with the patronage at the Jagannath temple, the protocol being a touchy issue. This rally will be a wake-up call to the double-engine government, Das said, concluding his speech.
Expectation of Former Leaders
An additional past president of OPCC, Niranjan Patnaik, and Sarat Patnaik spoke positively about Gandhi’s visit and said it would rejuvenate the party in Odisha. Indian National Congress leader Srikant Jena, who had served as the Union minister, focused on the past legacy of the party, and Jaydev Jena on the importance of an improved reservation system to represent the marginalised communities. Criticising the state of Odisha over the economic damage supposedly incurred by the state through the issue of a mining cess, Prasad Harichandan informed that the failure of the state to impose a cess created a loss of about 200,000 crores of revenue as per Supreme Court orders.
Demand the Inclusion of More People
Among the congress officials in attendance, Arvind Das, who was the party media cell head, made a plea to get the masses involved in ensuring that the success of the rally is attained. Closure of the event was done by former OPCC general secretary Taraprasad Bahinipati, who lauded the media and asked the reporters to take it upon themselves to publicise the importance of the rally. Mahila Congress President Minakshi Bahinipati, Bhubaneswar District Congress President Bishwajit Das, Youth Congress President Ranjit Patra, and Student Congress President Udit Pradhan, among others, were other prominent figures who took part in the rally.
Riding on the issue of perceived threats to constitutional values under the BJP rule, the rally is part of the Congress nationwide “Samvidhan Bachao” movement. The presence of Gandhi and other senior officials is meant to reposition the party in correlation with voters of Odisha. This meeting in the politically realigned environment that is yet to recover from the BJP triumph in the state could define the outlines of the Congress opposition game plan over the next several months.
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