Congress to launch stir against economic woes, paper leaks, 'seat chori'

New Delhi: The Congress leadership on Thursday decided to launch a national campaign against the Modi government over economic issues, including fuel price hike, inflation, unemployment, paper leaks, against "seat chori", the way many opposition MPs are "being made to resign or cross over to the ruling side" and the way nomination papers of the party's Rajya Sabha candidate in MP was rejected. The agitation, with emphasis on reaching out to the affected people and households, will also hold the PM particularly responsible for these issues, party leaders said.

The move coincides with the Modi government's anniversary and also signals Congress' plan to hit the streets right when the Cockroach Janata Party is testing the waters to be an agitational platform against the Centre. At a closed-door meeting of AICC and PCC functionaries, presided over by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have exhorted his party colleagues to be aggressive in their agitation and in their criticism of the PM, Union home minister Amit Shah and RSS. He said he has been told by many people that "Modi ruined their lives".

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"The party is going to launch a campaign at the national, state, district and block levels. It will not just be a traditional form of agitation. We will go to the people who are suffering, to those in pain. We will try to share their pain and carry their voice to the national level through maximum agitation. Every Congress leader and worker should be out on the streets. We will chalk out the details of the programme in the next two to five days," said AICC general secretary (org) KC Venugopal at a presser.

AICC general secretary Kumari Selja told journalists, "Congress party has raised the loudest voice and will continue to do so. It is our responsibility to highlight the people's pain and suffering. We will raise this issue with full force across the country. We must address all issues like NEET, CBSE, inflation..."

It is learnt that during the meeting Kharge and some other leaders criticised party functionary Kanhaiya Kumar for suggesting that the proposed agitation "should not be seen" as a Congress programme so that activists and NGOs can be made to join the stir. Asserting that it will be a Congress' agitation, the senior leaders are also learnt to have reminded the former Left leader that NSUI, of which he is in-charge, is very much part of Congress and that he can't complain about the lack of Congress backing for its students wing's agitation against the paper leaks.