Bangalore: In Preparation for Polls, Congress Unites, Cracks Whip
Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)
Bangalore, Feb 6: In the general body meeting of members held in the city on Saturday February 4, Congress party, which expects election to be announced anytime in the state, has begun preparations to face the polls in all earnestness. In addition to warning dissidents, who have been issuing statements on one pretext or the other, of stern action, the meeting pledged to unite all sections of the party and give a semblance of discipline to the image of the party.
The meeting, which went on for the entire day, was organized at the palace grounds in the city on Saturday. Almost all the senior and junior leaders of the party from the state, and union ministers, attended the meeting.
The meeting, which was monitored by All India Congress Committee general secretary, Madhusudhan Mistry, came down heavily on the state government led by BJP for its failures on all fronts. The meeting also considered issues like urging for implementation of the Lokayukta report, apathy of the government in managing drought, demand to bring Hyderabad Karnataka region under section 371 in an effort to do away with regional imbalance, etc. The proceedings went on without any problems or infighting.
Detailed discussions were also held in the meeting on ways and means to pinpoint failures and weaknesses of the BJP government to the people, and also on the strategies for strengthening the party.
About a thousand members, including members of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, presidents of taluk and zilla panchayats, senior leaders, block Congress presidents, participated in the meeting. KPCC president, Dr G Parameshwar, union ministers, S M Krishna, Veerappa Moily and K H Muniyappa, opposition leader in state assembly, Siddaramiaah, Motamma, H Vishwanath, H K Patil, B L Shankar, D K Shivakumar, and others were present.
Madhusudan Mistry, who inaugurated the meeting, came down heavily on the BJP government for its commissions and omissions. He accused it of not spending anything out of Rs 20,000 crore grant released by the central government. Predicting a clear victory for Congress in the coming election, he called upon all the members of the party to make all out efforts to keep communal BJP out of power in the next election. He also instructed the leaders to sort out their differences within the four walls of the party, and not to approach the media with even minor problems.
The meeting decided to place before the people the government’s failures on the fronts of agriculture, power, drought management etc. It condemned the government’s negligence in implementing Lokayukta report, taking cognizance of Supreme Court’s strictures on assembly speaker, and delay in appointment of new Lokayukta. It decided to bring to the notice of the people the stronghold of Sangh Parivar in state government, and the politics of caste and money pursued by it.
It was also decided to demand implementation of section 371 for doing away with regional imbalance, and also to fight against irregularities in Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. It also planned to convince the people about the achievements of the UPA government of the present and the past, and promise to solve problems faced by students, youth, and women. It also resolved to thank the UPA government for its decision to provide internal reservations to communities within minorities, and demanded strong action against party dissidents.