Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday termed the Congress as the soul of the country and the Gandhi family as the voice of the SCs, STs, BCs and minorities. He accused the BJP of attempting to finish off the Congress and politically wipe out the Gandhi family.Addressing district Congress committee (DCC) presidents from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Revanth alleged that parties that emerged after Independence under the Constitution framed by the Congress were now calling for a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’. “The country and the Congress could not be separated,” he said, alleging that the BJP was conspiring not only to finish off the Congress and politically wipe out the Gandhi family, but also to change the Constitution and remove reservations.The TPCC organised a training programme for DCC presidents of the two Telugu states as part of the ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan’ initiative of the AICC. Pradesh Congress committee presidents of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, B Mahesh Kumar Goud and YS Sharmila, also addressed the DCC chiefs.“The BJP is conspiring against Rahul Gandhi and is not allowing him to speak in Parliament. Members of the Gandhi family, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, are being harassed and insulted through cases foisted against them. When Rahul Gandhi was made to vacate his official residence, he did not have a house of his own to go to and stayed with his mother,” Revanth alleged.He told the DCC presidents that the 10-day training programme was being held at a time when, he alleged, there was a conspiracy to change the Constitution and remove reservations. He urged them to use the programme to learn facts and expose what he described as BJP conspiracies against the Congress, the Gandhi family, the Constitution and reservations at the doorsteps of the people.Referring to electoral performance, Revanth said the Congress vote share was 2% higher than that of the main opposition in the 2023 assembly election results, and that it increased to 4% within six months in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He added that in the recent municipal elections in Telangana, the Congress vote share was 12% higher than that of the party that came second, attributing the performance to the hard work of party workers and the confidence reposed in the Congress govt by the people.He said 63% of BCs were elected in the recently held municipal elections and that 49.8% of BCs won sarpanch posts in panchayat elections. He added that Telangana was the first state in the country to conduct a caste survey and complete SC categorisation.Revanth appealed to DCC presidents to focus on people’s issues and stay away from lobbying for personal gains, saying there was only a merit quota in the Congress. He said DCC chiefs should work to strengthen the Congress in Andhra Pradesh and ensure that it emerged as a formidable force in the two Telugu states. Referring to YS Sharmila, he said she could have secured posts using the name of her father, former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, but was instead carving a niche for herself by working hard, fighting for the people’s welfare and strengthening the party in Andhra Pradesh. He asked the new DCC chiefs to take Sharmila and Rahul Gandhi as examples.
