From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Nov 6: The newly elected AICC President M Mallikarjuna Kharge, who visited his home State of Karnataka as the Congress party’s national chief, was accorded a warm welcome by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee leaders, including AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and KPCC chief D K Shivakumar and other leaders at the Devanahalli toll gate near the Kempe Gowda International Airport on Sunday.
Congress Opposition leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah and his Council counterpart B K Hariprasad and other leaders were present.
Kharge was later accorded a massive reception by the party workers at the Sarvodaya Convention.
Addressing the convention held in honour of the new AICC President, Shivakumar said it was a great moment and singular honour for Karnataka as a Congress leader from the State has become the Congress national president after 52 years.
“Kharge is a leader who believed in the Sarvodaya movement launched by father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi,’’ Shivakumar said and pointed out that it was befitting that the function to welcome has been named as Sarvodaya convention.
The KPCC chief said Kharge’s role and responsibilities in leading the party headed by Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, S Nijalingappa, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi is enormous, especially because he hails from the Dalit Community and rose to the highest position in the party as the son of a mill employee and a labour leader.
“Kharge has become synonymous with loyalty to party, honesty and sacrifice,’’ the KPCC chief said recalling his association with him since 1980. He said he had worked under Kharge as State Congress President and now he himself is the national party president.
Shivakumar lauded Kharge’s contribution in establishing the ESI Hospital and Medical College and also in ensuring that the backward North Karnataka region was accorded the benefit of Article 371J and the people of the region are eternally grateful to him.
The KPCC chief said the ruling BJP, which had given a total of 600 promises to the people had fulfilled barely 550 and has failed the people of Karnataka and said it is the duty of all Congressmen to work for dethroning the BJP government and ensuring that the Congress party returned to power.