The Congress party will work towards BJP-mukt Karnataka, said D.K. Shivakumar, giving a clarion call to his partymen soon after taking over as the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president on 'Pratijna Dina' (oath taking day) held at KPCC office in Bengaluru on Thursday.
The event, livestreamed in 7,800 locations across the state to reach 20 lakh party workers, saw veteran Congress leaders share their vision for the party's revival.
"Some call me the Kanakapura "bande"(rock). I don't want to be chiseled into an idol, but remain strong as a stepping stone for the Congress party to reach the third floor of the Vidhana Soudha (as the ruling party).
Exhorting the leaders and workers to come together, Shivakumar said, "We have to change from a mass based party to the cadre based party. Every single leader should emerge from the booth. No decision will be my individual decision but of the party. Congress has no caste or religion. We need to instill pride in every Congressman as no other party can flaunt the tricolour in its party flag."
Shivakumar cautioned the party workers against rallying behind one particular leader and asked them to worship only the party. "We need leaders, not followers. We saw what happened by grooming only tall leaders. We don't want followers, but loyal party workers, who can lead from panchayats to Parliament," said Shivakumar, who stressed on the importance of frontal organisations.
"Seva Dal, Mahila Congress, Youth Congress and other frontal organisations are like the pillars of the party. When all the fingers are together, it becomes a powerful fist," said Shivakumar.
Launching an attack on his political opponents, Shivakumar said, "There was IT and ED probe against me. Now they have ordered a CBI probe. But, D.K. Shivakumar is not one to yield to any pressure tactic. Many people said it was the end of DKS's political career. But Sonia Gandhi sent leaders like Venugopal, Ahmed Patel and Kharge to meet me in Tihar jail."
"Our leader Sonia Gandhi, after holding long deliberations with Rahul Gandhi, senior leaders and party workers, has given me this sacred post. She sat with me, treating me like her own brother and asked me to take up the responsibility. I did not chase the post. But I am certainly enthusiastic to fight against this (BJP) tide. I am a party worker first and believe in collective leadership," said Shivakumar.
Rahul Gandhi, who telephoned AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal during the ceremony, expressed his confidence in Shivakumar's leadership and ability to take everyone along in strengthening the party.
Earlier, Venugopal described Shivakumar as a capable leader who came up the hard way.
"Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi chose Shivakumar as the KPCC chief as he is capable and faced all the challenges since his NSUI days. He is known to turn challenges into opportunities. His loyalty towards the party is laudable. He stood like a rock in support of the National Congress. I am confident he can lead the party, energise the party and today is the beginning. Congress has a strong base in Karnataka. This will be a turning point in his career," said Venugopal.
"Congress is a democratic party and without the support of all the leaders, Shivakumar's mission will not be successful. So, I am confident he will take everybody along," Venugopal added.
Former chief minister and leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah lauded Shivakumar and the three KPCC working presidents, Eshwara Khandre, Salim Ahmed and Satish Jarkiholi, for organising the event.
"Today, we reiterated our commitment towards the Constitution and the party. DKS has worked as a minister in my cabinet. He is hardworking and talented and I have confidence he will reenergise the party," said Siddaramaiah, who lauded Shivakumar's plan to build Congress into a cadre-based party.
"Congress was in power for long and it became a mass based party. The BJP is surviving on the RSS cadres. No one can defeat the Congress if it becomes a cadre based party. The Congress is the only alternative to the BJP," said Siddaramaiah, adding the party was not born for the sake of power.
"It is a movement, a struggle, a party born for protecting the country. Today, the party has suffered a setback. But it is still a party for all. In Karnataka assembly polls, we got 38.14 per cent, but the BJP got only 36.34 per cent of votes. The BJP got more seats, but people did not give them a clear mandate. Our government had fulfilled all promises. But it fell victim to mispropaganda and strategy of the BJP and JD(S),and we could not win," added the former chief minister.
Rajya Sabha member Mallikarjun Kharge, who attacked Modi government over its failure in containing the Chinese aggression and mismanagement of COVID-19 pandemic, said, "Today's event is reaching 20 lakh Congress party workers through use of technology. We must use the same medium to educate the youth and party workers on the failures of Modi government."
