Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said even though the national party had not been in power in Tamil Nadu for the last 50 years, it continued to remain a strong movement and it could further be strengthened by intensive field work by the party cadres.
Interacting with leaders of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) via video, Mr. Gandhi called upon party functionaries to work “to provide relief to the people of Tamil Nadu, who have been affected by the AIADMK government”.
He advised the Congress leaders to abide by the party’s stand and inner-party democracy while expressing their views in the public and during debates on television news channels. “Take action against those violating party discipline. Positive thinking among leaders is the need of the hour,” he said.
Explaining the details of the meeting, TNCC president K.S. Alagiri said various issues, including the 2021 Assembly poll, the selection of constituencies and the strengthening of the Secular Progressive Alliance in the State, came up for discussion. “The meeting decided to highlight how the BJP government at the Centre is functioning against the interests of the people and is seeking to destroy the unique feature of the Tamil language. We will also explain to the people the problems caused by the introduction of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and the three farm-related legislation,” Mr. Alagiri said.
He said prospects were good for a DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance in the election and it was decided to seek the support of the people on the plank of the AIADMK government’s connivance with the BJP on its anti-people policies. The meeting was attended by AICC general secretaries K.C. Venugopal and Mukul Wasnik, in-charge of party affairs in T.N. Dinesh Gundu Rao and senior leaders P. Chidambaram, K.R. Ramasamy and Chellakumar.
After the meeting, Mr. Rao called for a meeting of the senior leaders to evolve a strategy for the Assembly election. The meeting will be held in Chennai on December 3.
