Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will launch the party’s campaign for the Punjab Assembly elections with a rally in Sangrur district on November 4.
The announcement was made by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal, who claimed that the people of Punjab were seeking a complete change of government.
Venugopal, who chaired a day-long organisational review meeting at the party office in Chandigarh, launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over what he described as the deteriorating law and order situation and the rampant drug menace in the state.
“People of Punjab are looking for a complete change. The law and order situation is completely broken. Punjab is becoming the epicentre of the drug mafia. We need to eradicate all these evils,” he said.
“Our goal is to win back Punjab and save it from these evil forces. The Congress party is very confident that we are going to form the government in Punjab,” Venugopal added.
He said Rahul Gandhi had a strong connect with the people of Punjab and claimed that his vision and ideas were gaining traction across the country, particularly among young people and Gen Z.
Referring to recent firing incidents in Punjab, Venugopal alleged that the Bhagwant Mann-led government had lost control over the law and order situation.
“Day by day, the law and order situation is worsening. The government has no control over law and order. Whenever Congress was in power, people remember those days as a period of peace in Punjab. We are going to repeat it,” he said.
Venugopal also defended Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s controversial ‘Modi Ka Baap’ remark, saying it was directed at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in an ideological context rather than at an individual.
“Kharge ji thought about that ideologically. Ideologically, the BJP’s father is the RSS—Kharge ji meant only that. It was an ideological attack, not a personal attack,” Venugopal said.
He also questioned the treatment of Kharge after the Congress president, a senior leader from a marginalised background, attended an event, referring to what he described as a “purification exercise”.
“What did they do against Kharge ji? A purification exercise after a tall leader from a marginalised background attended a programme. What does that mean?” he asked.
