Congress to organise year-long celebrations to mark 75 yrs of India's Independence

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday said the party has decided to organise a series of functions to commemorate the 75 years of India's Independence.

The decision was taken at a meeting of general secretaries and in-charges and PCC presidents.

Party general secretary KC Venugopal, who is AICC general secretary (organisation), said it was decided to form committees in all states to organise year-long celebrations to commemorate 75 years of Independence.

"It has been decided to hold following programmes on August 14 and 15, 2021. The party will organise "Swatantra Senani and Shaheed Samman Divas" in all the districts, public events to honour and facilitate freedom fighters, their families and martyrs families on August 14 evening," he said in a statement.

The event will be held at a place significant to and or associated with the freedom struggle or freedom fighters, he said.

Venugopal said "Swatantrata March" (Freedom March) will be organized on August 15 between 7 AM to 9 AM, with all blocks and Districts Congress Committees taking out such marches.

The party will also organise a media campaign highlighting events of the freedom movement and all PCCs will prepare a two-minute video for social media campaign highlighting the events of freedom movement from their state.

Attacking the Modi government, Venugopal alleged, "Despotic and autocratic individuals and organizations, majority of whom then had sided with the British and opposed the Freedom movement, continue to challenge the very foundation of our polity and democracy," "Undermining individual freedoms, perpetuating social injustice, subverting institutional autonomy, creating caste and religious divides and compromising the very fundamental of our Constitution and Nationhood are their overt and covert agenda.

Today, the onus lies upon each one of us to preserve and protect this freedom," he said in his statement.

India enters the 75th year of its independence from August 15 this year.