Shubhadeep Choudhury
New Delhi, December 28
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said a number of countries in India’s neighbourhood attained Independence at the same time as India but many of these countries later turned to dictatorship, while India clung to democracy.
“Not only that, within a few decades, India became an economic, nuclear and strategic superpower with advanced missiles,” Kharge, who was speaking at a function at the AICC headquarters here on the occasion of Congress party’s 138th foundation day, said. He added that India figured among the top countries in the fields of agriculture, education, medicine, IT and service sector.
Kharge said the success story scripted by India would not have been possible if the Congress governments, that ran the country during the early decades after Independence, did not demonstrate faith in democracy and did not follow an ideology of harmonious coexistence and reposed faith in science and knowledge.
Congress backed a Constitution for the country that did not discriminate between citizens, Kharge said.
Following Independence, the Congress party worked on liberating the poor, the deprived, the Dalits and others who faced oppression for thousands of years. “Congress wanted all sections of people to enjoy the fruits of Independence and it worked in this direction with all sincerity,” Kharge said.
Kharge said the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi was successful in rejuvenating the crores of Congress workers of the country and was able to showcase the support the Congress ideology enjoyed among the masses.
The Congress president said the response evoked by the yatra had made the political rivals of Congress party nervous. He appealed to people to join the yatra to ensure a better future for the country.
“We want to assure our countrymen that we are ready to rise up to their expectations. This is our promise on the occasion of foundation day of the party,” Kharge said.
The mother-son duo of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi ndash; both former party presidents ndash; were present at the function.