Congress sounds poll bugle with 'call to action'

RAIPUR: Congress enshrined the plank of "opposition unity" in the five-point 'Raipur Call to Action' that brought down the curtains on its 85th plenary session, converting into policy vision the statement of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge at the start of the three-day deliberations.
The declaration prefaced the subject, animating a large section of the anti-BJP class by underlining the salience of Congress as the "only party that has never compromised with BJP/RSS and its despicable politics", and saying it will continue to confront "BJP's authoritarian, communal and crony capitalist onslaught".
"We are prepared to work with like-minded parties on the basis of a common, constructive programme to preserve and protect the Constitution in letter and spirit, and to address the three main challenges facing the country: growing economic inequality, intensifying social polarisation and deepening political dictatorship," declared the second prong of the five-point charter.
The party demanded a caste census in the country, a Universal Right to Health Act, a women-centric NYAY programme.
Congress appears to have moved strategically by placing its readiness to partner with ideological allies right at the head of the crisp vision document crystallising three days of discussions involving 15,000 delegates and Congress leadership. It aimed to set the optics right with its supportbase, after JDU leader Nitish Kumar's repeated public statements created an impression that Congress was either unwilling to, or lacked urgency in, resurrecting the anti-BJP axis, thereby casting it as the spoiler in the fight against the communal forces.
At the same time, Congress sought to convey its seriousness to political suitors like Kumar and others. But in the process, it seems to have reiterated its claim to the leadership of a potential alliance, by pointing to its political purity vis a vis the communal forces, as against others who have swung across the ideological divide in pursuit of power, JDU itself being an example.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also batted for opposition unity. "Only one year is left (for polls). There is an expectation that we should unite. There are expectations from all parties, but the maximum expectation is from Congress," she said.
The Raipur declaration focused on the busy election calendar ahead which will see polls in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, MP, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana.