NewzVille Desk
The Congress celebrated its 140th Foundation Day today at the party headquarters, Indira Bhawan. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge unfurled the party flag in the presence of Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, treasurer Ajay Maken, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and several senior party leaders and workers from across the country.
Calling for a united fight to save the democracy in the country, the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Constitution and democracy were under grave threat.
Kharge asserted that the Congress would continue its fight to protect the country’s core values of secularism, social justice and unity, even if it was out of power.
“This fight is not merely electoral. It is a battle for the soul of India. If Congress does not fight, who will protect the Constitution and democracy?” he asked.
Kharge alleged that during the last 11 years, the BJP-led government had systematically weakened institutions built by the Congress, favoured a handful of capitalists, undermined MGNREGA and endangered national resources such as land, water and forests.
He appealed to the Congress workers across the country to unite and launch a mass movement to protect and restore MGNREGA, calling it a vital lifeline for the poor and vulnerable. He urged workers to reach out to people with the spirit of the Dandi March and the Bharat Jodo movement.
Recalling the party’s legacy since its founding on December 28, 1885, Kharge paid tributes to freedom fighters and Congress leaders who sacrificed for India’s Independence and later laid the foundations of a strong democratic Constitution. He said the Congress would continue to work to realise the vision of those leaders.
Kharge also recalled the UPA era under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, noting that landmark rights-based legislations such as RTI, MGNREGA, Right to Education, Food Security, Forest Rights and land acquisition reforms earned global recognition.
He criticised the RSS and BJP, alleging that their leaders historically opposed the Constitution, the tricolour, Ashoka Chakra and “Vande Mataram”, and were now attempting to roll back rights won through decades of sacrifice. “Those whose forefathers had no role in the freedom struggle are today trying to snatch people’s rights,” he alleged.
Referring to key milestones, Kharge noted that 2025 marked the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi becoming Congress president and the 75th year of the Constitution, while 2026 will mark the 200th birth anniversary of Dadabhai Naoroji and the centenary of Sarojini Naidu’s Congress presidency.
