The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the grand old party, on Sunday, made a passionate appeal to the people of Telangana to elect the party in the upcoming assembly elections. It reminded the people of the state that the party's leadership had heard them and tackled challenges to create the separate state of Telangana in 2014.
The CWC attacked the ruling Bharath Rashtra Samithi (BRS), equating its rule to that of the Nizams.
"Nine years after Telangana was formed, the CWC notes with anguish that the promise of 'Golden Telangana' lies shattered, betrayed by governments both in Delhi and Hyderabad. The dream for which people fought for Telangana remains unfulfilled. The resources of the new state, meant for its people, have instead been siphoned off by those in power. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and his family have established family rule and are deaf to the voices of the people," read the statement of CWC released on the second day of the meeting held in Hyderabad.
The Congress also accused the BRS of ignoring farmers' woes and found fault with governance projects like the Dharani portal, which is related to land records, and massive irrigation projects like Kaleshwaram. "The CWC shares the pains of our brothers and sisters in Telangana and resolves to continue the struggle to meet the unrealised objectives of the Telangana movement," said the CWC.
The meeting of the Extended Congress Working Committee concluded on Sunday with the members expressing confidence that the party will receive a decisive mandate from the people of five poll-bound states—Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, and Telangana.
The CWC also reaffirmed the preparedness of the party's organisation for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, which are due in mid-2024.
In his remarks at the CWC, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said the welfare schemes implemented in Congress-ruled states, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, should be widely publicised as he felt that they were models of social justice. "Friends, our goal must be to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and work diligently to form an alternative government in the country," he said.
On Monday, the third and final day of the CWC programme, senior leaders of the party will visit 115 assembly constituencies to release the 'chargesheet' against the BRS government and also present the '6 guarantees' of the Congress, which would be implemented if they win power.