Cong is an ideology, says Kharge

New Delhi: On the 140th Foundation Day of the Congress, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday asserted that the Congress is an ideology and ideologies never die.Addressing party leaders and workers at the Indira Bhawan headquarters of the party, he said India has become the world’s largest democracy due to the great leaders of the Congress. “Today, on Foundation Day, I want to clearly say one thing to those who say ‘the Congress is finished’. I want to tell them that our power may be less, but our spine is still straight. We have not compromised; not with the Constitution, not with secularism and not with the rights of the poor. We may not be in power, but we will not bargain,” he said.

Noting that the Congress has never asked for votes in the name of religion, Kharge asserted that the party has never spread hatred in the name of temple-mosque. “The Congress unites. The BJP divides. The Congress kept religion as faith only. But some people turned religion into politics. Today, the BJP has power, but they do not have the truth. Therefore, sometimes data is hidden, sometimes the census is stopped, sometimes talks of changing the Constitution happen,” he said.

The Congress chief said those who are giving speeches on history today, their ancestors were fleeing from history. “The Congress is an ideology and ideologies never die,” he asserted. Kharge also said the year 2025 was the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi becoming the Congress president, the 75th year of the adoption of the Constitution and the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. He said the year 2026 is the 200th anniversary of Dadabhai Naoroji, the centenary year of Sarojini Naidu becoming the Congress president and is also the centenary of the song ‘Jhanda Uucha Rahe Hamara’, which was sung for the first time at the Kanpur Congress Session in December 1925.

Noting that around the time of India’s Independence, many nations gained freedom, the Congress president pointed out that some countries failed while in others, dictatorship prevailed. “Only India is such a country where democracy is vibrant. It is due to the great leaders of the Congress that India has become the world’s largest democracy,” he claimed. Kharge said the Indian National Congress has always worked for the welfare, empowerment and inclusive development of the people of India. “We strongly believe in equal opportunity in political, economic, and social rights, as guaranteed by the Constitution of India.”

“The 140-year-old glorious history of the Indian National Congress narrates the great saga of truth, non-violence, sacrifice, struggle and patriotism,” he said, while giving his best wishes to every Indian on Congress Foundation Day. Several Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal, and Ajay Maken, were present at the function to commemorate the 140th Foundation Day of the party. Senior Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Digvijaya Singh attended the event, while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was not present at the function.