Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary K.C. Venugopal during a meeting with leaders of Rajasthan, in New Delhi on Thursday. Photo: @INCIndia/X via ANI
The Congress leadership on Thursday (January 29, 2026) held separate meetings with party leaders from Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, asking them to work unitedly in highlighting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments’ failure to deliver on their promises and to sharpen the party’s organisational response on the ground.
The meetings were chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal.
At the Rajasthan meeting, held at Mr. Kharge’s residence, State Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, Legislature Party leader Tikaram Jully, AICC general secretaries Sachin Pilot and Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, and party spokesperson Pawan Khera were present.
Mr. Dotasra said the discussions focused on organisational issues, including the appointment of booth-level agents, the movement to restore Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, and alleged irregularities during the final stages of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Preparations for the upcoming panchayat and municipal elections were also reviewed. He said the leadership had stressed unity and sustained mobilisation on issues affecting marginalised sections, with an eye on strengthening the party ahead of the 2028 Assembly election.
“The message from the top leadership was to work together and continue raising our voice for the issues affecting people as well as against the discrimination being done by the government,”he said.
In the meeting with Chhattisgarh leaders, including former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, former Deputy Chief Minister T.S. Singhdeo and State unit chief Deepak Baij, Mr. Pilot accused the BJP government of undermining tribal rights and weakening panchayats by replacing MGNREGA with a new employment law.
“The BJP government in the State has completely failed. Mining is being allowed entry through the backdoor, due to which our tribal brothers and sisters are troubled, and in such a situation, we stand firmly with them,” Mr. Pilot said.
“The BJP government has abolished the MGNREGA and enacted a new law. This has snatched away the rights of panchayats, the poor and the labourers. We will continuously put pressure on the Centre and it will be forced to withdraw this new law,” he added
Published – January 30, 2026 10:36 am IST
