 "Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge")
As curtains came down on the Congress' 85th plenary session on Sunday, there were several takeaways from the three-day conclave of the party -- from opting to authorise the AICC president to nominate CWC members to making its stance clear on alliances for 2024 polls.
The main takeaways from the session are as follows:
* The Congress Steering Committee unanimously decided not to hold elections to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and authorised party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to nominate its members.
* Kharge said his party is willing to forge a viable alternative by aligning with like-minded parties in order to get rid of the "anti-people" BJP government in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and is ready to make any sacrifice required to achieve the goal.
* The Congress said it is the only party that can provide capable and decisive leadership to the country, but is ready to make sacrifices to defeat the BJP-led NDA and would go all out to identify, mobilise and align like-minded secular forces to achieve its goal.
* The party also cautioned that the emergence of any third force would give an advantage to the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
* Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi launched an all-out attack on the BJP government, accusing it of "fuelling the fire of hatred" and "viciously targeting minorities, women, Dalits and tribals".
* Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said she was happy that her innings could conclude with the Bharat Jodo Yatra, with the party asserting that the remark was about her tenure as the party president and had nothing to do with her retirement from politics.
More From This Section
* The Congress carried out 85 amendments in its constitution at its plenary session to provide 50 per cent reservation to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), women, youth and minorities in its working committee and at all party positions.
* According to the amended constitution of the party, the CWC will now include former prime ministers from the party and former AICC chiefs besides leaders of the Congress in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
* The party decided to provide 50 per cent vertical reservation to SCs/STs/OBCs/minorities and horizontal reservation to youths aged below 50 and women in both reserved and unreserved categories.
* The number of CWC members will go up to 35 from the earlier 23, with 18 members to be elected and 17 to be nominated.
* The amended constitution says from now on, the party will only have digital membership and records.
* The party also amended its constitution to make stringent provisions for those taking Congress membership and ensure that they abstain from taking intoxicating drugs and psychotropic substances.
* In its economic resolution, the Congress said is against "government-facilitated" private monopolies and not any person rising from a humble background to become the world's second richest. It reiterated its demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Adani-Hindenburg issue.
* The Congress will bring a legislation against hate crimes in the country if voted to power. The assertion was part of the party's 58-point political resolution that was adopted at the plenary session.
* In its Raipur Declaration, the Congress gave a call to party leaders in poll-bound states, including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, to work with discipline and complete unity to ensure victory that will "set the tone" for 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
* In its five-point Raipur Declaration adopted at the party's plenary session here, the Congress declared that it is ready to work with like-minded political parties on the basis of a common, constructive programme to preserve and protect the Constitution.
* In his remarks at the plenary, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi flayed BJP leaders for coming out in support of the Adani Group in Parliament over the fraud allegations levelled against it in a report by Hindenburg Research. He likened the business conglomerate to the British East India Company and said the party would keep raising questions about its business practices until the truth comes out.
* In a scathing attack on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Rahul Gandhi said his recent remarks on China did not show nationalism but cowardice and that these were in line with V D Savarkar's ideology of "bowing before the strong".
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
