Congress to organise yearlong Indira Gandhi’s birth centenary

NEW DELHI: The Congress leadership has decided to organise a yearlong celebrations to observe former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s birth centenary year from November 19. The move comes as the party fears that the Modi government may opt to underplay the event.

Congress had, a couple of yeard ago, similarly observed an year-long celebration of Jawaharlal Nehru’s 125th birth anniversy year amidst the Congress charge that the newly installed Modi government was under playing the role of India’s first Prime Minister.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday constituted two party committees for the purpose. The Indira Gandhi birth centernary celebration committee comprises 21 top leaders including AICC office bearers, CWC members and leaders of frontal organizations and some MPs.

The second, 12-member committee for implementation of the programme has Sheila Dikshit as convener and Anand Sharma and Mani Shankar Aiyar as co-conveners. The same was the line-up for the Nehru celebrations.

The party is expected to organize international and national conferences in Delhi on various themes and party functions in the States to commemorate the centenary year of Indira Gandhi’s event while making no secret of making a political statement of the occasion against the BJP and NDA government.