With an aim to strengthen the party at the grassroots level before the 2028 Madhya Pradesh polls, Congress MP and leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi visited Bhopal on Tuesday to participate in a campaign that seeks to infuse enthusiasm in party workers. But, his visit caught more attention for his jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Taking a fresh swipe at the PM, Gandhi said the PM had ‘surrendered’ during last month’s military conflict with Pakistan, after United States President Donald Trumps ‘order’ to do so.
“A call came from (Donald) Trump and Narendraji immediately surrendered... history is witness to this. Narendraji followed Trump saying, ‘Narender, surrender’ by saying ‘yes, sir’,” Gandhi said, adding, “I am well aware of the BJP and RSS (referring to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ruling party’s ideological mentor) people. Apply a little pressure... and they run away in fear.”
Referring to the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war fought during the Congress’ rule in which Bangladesh got liberation, Gandhi said: “India broke Pakistan in 1971 despite threat of America. Lions and lionesses of Congress fight against superpowers and never bow down.”
Before the campaign launch, Gandhi addressed a meeting of the Congress’ political affairs committee and discussed key issues with the senior party leaders.
The leader of the opposition also chaired a meeting at the state Congress office in the city, where general secretary in-charge Harish Choudhary, AICC organisation in-charge K.C. Venugopal, Congress president, Patwari, Kamal Nath, former chief minister Digvijaya Singh, leader of opposition in the M.P. Assembly, Umang Singhar, and other leaders were present.
Saying the Congress will continue to fight democratically for people’s rights, Gandhi said that Lok Sabha was being run in an undemocratic manner.
“Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi addressed the meeting of the Political Affairs Committee held at Indira Bhawan in Bhopal today and discussed important issues with all senior leaders,” said a statement of the state Congress unit.
Former State Congress president Arun Yadav and former MP Sajjan Verma, senior Congress leader Vivek Tankha, former LoP Ajay Singh and former Mahila Congress president Shobha Ojha were among those who attended the meeting.
Earlier, Arun Yadav said the ‘Sangthan Srujan Abhiyan’ (Organisation Rejuvenation Campaign) was being started with the aim of strengthening the organisation at the grassroots level and building enthusiasm among the party workers.
“We have not been in power in the state for a long time and under ‘Mission 2028’, we will work to form our government in the state again,” he said.
The last time that the Congress was in power in the state was for a brief period between December 2018 and March 2020, under Kamal Nath. It has been out of power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress could not win a single seat in the state. The BJP had won all 29 LS seats that year, including Chhindwara, the home turf of Kamal Nath.
The next State Assembly elections will be due in 2028.
Rahul accused of ‘disrespecting’ Indira Gandhi
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav took a dig at Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, saying the Congress MP had not removed his shoes while offering tribute at a statue of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which was “against their culture”.
“The Leader of Opposition has come to our state. It is a democracy. Everyone has the right to come. He offered floral tribute to his Dadi ji (grandmother) and did not remove his shoes. This did not suit me. This is against our sanskar (culture). He should take care of this,” said Yadav.
After reaching Bhopal on Tuesday, Gandhi had paid tribute at a life-size statue of Indira Gandhi located in front of the state party headquarters. A video of the programme was also widely shared on various social media platforms.
Follow us
