Bengaluru, Sept 1: AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal on Thursday is learnt to have pulled up the state party leaders for failing to set up booth-level committees and appoint booth agents across all Assembly constituencies in the state.
Venugopal, who held revenue division-wise meetings at the KPCC office along with state unit president G Parameshara, threatened the newly appointed KPCC general secretaries, vice-presidents and party legislators of action if they fail to set up these panels within a week’s time. He even asked them to either accomplish the task or quit their posts, sources in the party said.
The Congress had set August 31 as the deadline to set up panels and appoint 70,000 booth agents in 224 Assembly constituencies, with the aim of strengthening the party ahead of the Assembly elections. The plan is to transform itself into a cadre-based party on the lines of the BJP.
The sources said work on forming booth committees is going on at a slow pace in Mandya, Chamarajnagar, Mysuru, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Udupi, Belagavi and Bidar districts. The party had decided to launch a door-to-door campaign “Mane Manege Congress” involving booth committee members from September. But in the absence of these panels in many districts, the party is finding it difficult to take up the campaign, the sources pointed out.
Besides, Venugopal is learnt to have warned the leaders involved in a factional feud in Belgavi district and asked them to work unitedly. Two factions, one led by former minister Satish Jharkiholi and another by KPCC women’s wing president Lakshmi Hebbalkar, are at loggerheads on the appointment of district unit office-bearers.
‘Cong poll-ready’
Venugopal later told reporters that nearly 80% of booth committees have been formed and the party is ready to face the election. “The Congress is ready to face any challenge from the BJP and Sangh Parivar. The BJP is trying polarisation tactics. It (BJP) can go to any extent to win the election..But we are confident of facing any challenge from BJP national president Amit Shah,” he added.
He accused the Centre of misusing the I-T department and investigative agencies to target Congress leaders in the state. Venugopal defended the Siddaramaiah government which opposed use of Hindi in Metro, saying that imposing Hindi is not correct. The Congress is not against Hindi. But the party is against the Centre imposing it. “Even I got a letter from the Union Rural Development department recently in Hindi. It is not correct. Till a few years ago, we used to get letters both in English and Hindi. This government is trying to impose Hindi,” he stated.
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