Congress stir against price rise from next month; Rahul Gandhi flies to London

New Delhi: The Congress leadership will launch its second phase of its 'Jan Jagran agitation' from next month to mobilise the public against the spiralling inflation and growing unemployment problems. The party hopes to carry on with this agitation across states as a prelude to the mobilisation for the Congress' 'Kanyakumari to Kashmir Unite India Yatra' from October 2.

Given the record of the first phase of the Jan Jagran, it remains to be seen how the Congress' second phase of agitation will fare on the sustainability and impact scale. Meanwhile, the party intends to try and involve the participation of like-minded civil society outfits in the party's 3,000-km Bharat Yatra which Rahul Gandhi will launch from Kanyakumari on next Gandhi Jayanthi Day. ET had reported in the past that the AICC committee for holding sustained agitations had proposed joint ventures with civic society outfits on common causes, including for Jan Jagran agitations.

Since only 430 party delegates could be involved at the Udaipur Shivir, some of the left-out and thus aggrieved lot including working presidents of PCCs and some ministers in the states would be given a briefing on the Udaipur Declaration by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul soon. As promised at Udaipur, Gandhi is expected to soon constitute a task force to firm up methods for implementing the Nav Sankalp.


Rahul to Speak at Cambridge
Rahul Gandhi left for London on Thursday where he will address students at the Cambridge University. An AICC functionary said Gandhi will speak on 'India at 75', the challenges and way ahead for a resilient-modern India, at the university on May 23. He will also interact with the Indian diaspora. Gandhi had been on a foreign trip ahead of the party’s Udaipur Chintan Shivir and his latest trip coincides with the Congress being rocked with serial resignation – of Hardik Patel in Gujarat and Sunil Jakhar in Punjab — and amid buzz of more leaders being on the edge.