Leaders of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) on Monday called upon the party cadre to put in the hard yards and undertake field work, and reach out to people to ensure that the party grows in the State.
Kicking off a two-day meeting near Mamallapuram to deliberate on the proposals made during the ‘Chintan Shivir’ in Udaipur, TNCC president K.S. Alagiri asked the 250-odd participants to deliberate on topics identified by the party, ask questions and come up with suggestions, which could then be shared with its high command and put into practice.
“We [secular progressive alliance] won the last Lok Sabha polls [in T.N.] only because of our hard work. It was also because of the secular nature of the alliance and the field was against communal forces. We had a progressive alliance, Stalin and Rahul Gandhi, and that gave us such a big victory,” he said. “So be very steadfast in our ideology. You should be ready to work on the field. Just take a single vow that you want the Congress flag to fly high, that you want to win in your street. We will be able to win only if you go to the field,” Mr. Alagiri said.
The resolutions coming out of this must make an impact on Tamil Nadu politics, he said.
AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu Dinesh Gundu Rao said the deliberations were an attempt for the party to improve, make changes and progress. “[Current] times may be difficult for us but we must rise to the occasion. We need discussions, understanding of the situation and implementation of the ideas,” he said.
Hitting out at the BJP, Mr. Rao said certain forces were spreading falsehood on various issues, diverting people’s attention, changing the way the country was functioning and making things difficult for citizens. He said at the end of the two-day discussions, the party should give a clear-cut message to the people of Tamil Nadu on what the Congress party stands for.
Later, the cadre were divided into four groups to give their opinions on social welfare, youth and women’s welfare, agriculture, politics and party organisation and economy. The committees will deliberate on these issues till Tuesday afternoon and frame resolutions.
