Cong gears up for 2024 polls with brain-storming session
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 01 2022: The Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has kick-started a two-day brain storming session at Congress Bhavan here today with the primary objective of working out a strategy so that the Congress party can return to power both at the Centre and the State after the Lok Sabha election of 2024 .

The brain-storming session is being held in the line of a similar session organised by the AICC at Udaipur, Rajasthan recently where many Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were present.

The Udaipur convention adopted a new resolution to reinvigorate Congress party and bring it back to power.

The MPCC's brain-storming session is aimed at strengthening the Congress party at district level so that the Udaipur resolution can be fulfilled.

Cong gears up for 2024 polls with brain-storming session

Speaking to media persons today, ex-MP Dr Thokchom Meinya recalled that the Congress party came into existence from the early period of India's freedom struggle.

After achieving independence, India was in dire need of rapid development on all fronts and Indian National Congress (INC) took the responsibility of developing the country, Dr Meinya said.

A strong and stable Government led by INC was there was at the Centre from 1960 to 1970.It was during this period the Green Revolution was launched in India.

The same period also saw establishment of many key educational institutions, Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), Atomic Energy Commission etc, the ex-MP said.

Development projects were implemented in different sectors by formulating five-year plans after setting up the Planning Commission.

The INC even drew up a vision of 21st century India starting from 1980s and 1990s.The INC's vision encompassed the IT movement seen in the country, granting of Constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions and local bodies, 33 per cent reservation for women etc, Dr Meinya said.

There were non-Congress Governments in between and they mishandled the country's development process so miserably that at one point the sovereignty of India was put at stake, he said.

The return of Congress party to power heralded a new chapter in the history of India as the then Congress Government came up with a bold economic liberalisation policy, the ex-MP said.

He went on to say that the country saw inclusive development and substantial economic growth under the successive Congress Governments from 2004 to 2014 .

For the first time, the successive Congress Governments enacted the Right to Information (for transparent governance), Right to Works (under MGNREGS), Right to Food, Right to Education etc.

During this period, the growth rate of the country's GDP crossed double digit for the first time, he said.

However, both trade and commerce and the job market were shaken to the core when the BJP-led NDA Government demonetised currency notes in 2014 .

Then the implementation of GST pushed almost all small and medium industries to the point of complete collapse.

A huge section of the country's population was forced to face untold misery when the Central Government imposed a Nation-wide lockdown by issuing a notice a few hours before the lockdown came into effect in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Meinya said.

By 2017, the Central Government was not able to create any employment avenues and the country is now facing a serious issue of unemployment, he said.

At the same time, inflation has become a bane for the whole country.

Given this sorry state of affairs, there is an urgency for the Congress party to wrest power.

Hence, the MPCC is organising the brain-storming session, Dr Meinya added.

Meanwhile, L Memo who earlier served as Pradesh Youth president of Langthabal AC has re-joined Congress party after quitting the party for sometime.

N Poppilal who contested the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly election on NCP ticket in Sekmai AC has also joined Congress party.

It is said that Poppilal was seeking Congress ticket to contest the last Assembly election but he fought the election on NCP ticket as he was denied Congress ticket.

MPCC president K Meghachandra has admitted both L Memo and N Poppilal within the fold of Congress party.