"All Congressmen must witness historic centenary of Belagavi convention": Karnataka Dy CM Shivakumar

Speaking to the media after attending the preparatory meeting for the 100th anniversary of the Belagavi convention, he said, "In 1924, Mahatma Gandhi became the AICC President and assumed the leadership role in the independence struggle. The Congressmen have an opportunity to celebrate this proud moment and all of you must make use of it."

"After taking over as the KPCC President, I started my Praja Dwani Yatre from the same place as Gandhi Ji assumed the office of AICC Presidency. We launched the Gruhajyothi scheme after cleaning the roads from the waters of Gandhi well. We are celebrating this moment under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge. We need to write the foreword for a new chapter in 2028 in this convention," he said.

"This is a programme of the party and the government. We have formed a committee comprising 60 people including H K Patil, Veerappa Moily, B L Shankar and others to finalize the modalities of the celebration," he noted.

Shivakumar also outlined the schedule for the event, saying, "We will hold the Congress Working Committee meeting on December 26 at the same place where Gandhiji took oath as the AICC President in Belagavi. Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, all members of CWC, Presidents of all PCCs, CLP leaders, 150 MPs and AICC General Secretaries will participate in the convention. We will unveil a statue of Mahatma to mark the occasion. The CM will also hold a dinner for the dignitaries in the evening. The historic convention will take place at 11 am at Dec 27. We have delegated responsibilities in the last Cabinet meeting."

He recalled the party's recent efforts, saying, "To mark the 75th anniversary of the Indian Independence, we had organized an Independence Walk in which over 3 lakh people participated. This convention is historic and all the party workers from across the country must participate."

Shivakumar further emphasized the logistics for the event, saying, "We have delegated the protocol responsibilities to each of the MLAs. We have also given responsibilities to former MLAs and ministers. We have not organized any transport or accommodation in Belagavi. The people who have won or lost in the panchayat elections, appointees to boards and corporations, committee members and corporation members must come in their vehicles."

"We are illuminating Belagavi city at a cost of Rs 8 crore on the same lines as Mysuru during Dasara. It will be a historic moment. We are organizing awareness programmes for party workers in Kitturu Karnataka region regarding the convention. The people in charge must bring a minimum of 5000 people from each assembly constituency in this region and make this event a grand success," he added. (ANI)