At first CWC-meet, RaGa reminds of "role, responsibility" of Congress
What's the story
Rahul Gandhi, appointed the Congress chief in December, is chairing his first Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting today, two days after the party's joint no-confidence motion was staggeringly defeated in parliament.
Despite that, spirits are high, sources say. Buoyed by Gandhi's recent scathing attack on PM Narendra Modi and the hug that has now gone viral, leaders actively discussed 2019 strategies, NDTV reports.
Rahul Gandhi
'Rise and fight for India's oppressed': Rahul urges people
Addressing attendees in the meeting at the Parliament Annexe Building, Gandhi emphasized on "the role of Congress as the voice of India" and the "responsibility of the party as BJP attacks institutions, Dalits, tribals, minorities and the poor."
He called upon party members "to rise and fight for India's oppressed."
He also described the newly-constituted CWC "a bridge between the past, present and the future."
Twitter Post
Congress Communications Head tweets details
Sh. Rahul Gandhi calls the newly constituted CWC as an institution comprising of experience energy, as a bridge between the past, present and the future. Calls upon Congressmen/women to rise and fight for India’s oppressed.#CWC
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) July 22, 2018
Others
Manmohan, Sonia echo Rahul, warn against Modi's "culture of self-praise"
Speaking on the occasion, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi cautioned about the "reign of despair and fear heaped upon India's deprived and poor."
The "rhetoric of PM Modi shows his desperation reflecting that reverse countdown of the Modi government has begun," she added.
Former PM Manmohan Singh called Modi's regime a culture of "constant self praise and jumlas as against solid policy framework for driving the engine of growth."
CWC
The CWC was revamped on July 17
The CWC is the party's highest decision-making body. Five days ago, the Congress president revamped the unit, dropping some veterans like Digvijaya Singh, Janardan Dwivedi and Sushil Kumar Shinde.
Others like AK Antony, Ambika Soni, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge have been retained.
It now includes 23 regular members, 19 permanent and nine special invitees.
Information
CWC meeting comes right after humiliating defeat in the parliament
Congress, in cooperation with other opposition parties, moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government last week. Despite the government having a clear majority, Sonia Gandhi insisted they would win, but was left red-faced when they got just 126 votes compared to BJP's 325.