Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday held discussions with leaders of the party's youth and frontal organisations amid continuing protests against the Centre and the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged electoral irregularities.
The meeting, held at the Congress headquarters, Indira Bhawan, brought together senior leaders of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and Seva Dal, whose members have participated in demonstrations over the past week.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present.
The interaction came against the backdrop of protests organised by the Congress and its affiliated organisations over the Election Commission's handling of electoral-roll revisions and allegations concerning the integrity of the electoral process.
Kharge praised the party's youth leaders for continuing their demonstrations despite police action and accused the Modi government of attempting to suppress dissent.
๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
Sharing photographs of the meeting on X, Kharge said young people had historically played an important role in shaping India's political direction.
"India's youth have always been at the forefront of shaping our nation's political direction," he said.
Referring to the interaction at Indira Bhawan, the Congress president said the party leadership had met representatives of the NSUI, IYC and Seva Dal who had participated in demonstrations against the government.
Kharge alleged that the protesters had faced harsh police action while exercising their democratic rights.
He accused the Modi government of authoritarian conduct, describing the police response to recent demonstrations as an attempt to discourage political opposition.
The Congress chief said the party's youth and frontal organisations remained committed to questioning the government and defending democratic institutions.
"Our youth and frontal organisations remain steadfast in holding this anti-youth government accountable, defending democratic rights and safeguarding the credibility of our institutions," Kharge said.
He added that their determination had strengthened the Congress leadership's resolve to protect democratic principles.
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด
Among those who attended the meeting were NSUI president Vinod Jakhar, Indian Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chib and Seva Dal chief organiser B V Srinivas.
NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar and Youth Congress in-charge Manish Sharma were also present.
Several other representatives of the three organisations participated in the interaction with Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
According to party sources, the senior leadership thanked the workers for their participation in the recent demonstrations and acknowledged the difficulties they had faced during police interventions.
The leaders also discussed the role of the organisations in raising concerns relating to electoral processes and issues affecting young people.
๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐
Party sources said Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi commended the youth leaders and workers for continuing their protests despite detentions and other police action.
The leadership acknowledged their efforts in drawing attention to the Congress's objections to the SIR exercise and its allegations of electoral irregularities.
The senior leaders also praised the organisations for directly questioning the government and highlighting concerns affecting citizens, particularly young people.
According to the sources, the interaction was intended to encourage the workers and recognise their participation in the ongoing demonstrations.
The meeting also provided an opportunity for representatives of the frontal organisations to engage directly with the party's top leadership.
๐ฆ๐๐ฅ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐
The Congress has been organising demonstrations against the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and alleged irregularities in the electoral process.
The party has questioned aspects of the revision exercise and raised concerns about the possibility of eligible voters being excluded from electoral rolls.
The Election Commission has maintained that electoral-roll revisions are undertaken within its constitutional and statutory mandate.
The controversy has also brought attention to police restrictions and detentions during political demonstrations.
The Congress has criticised the police response, arguing that peaceful political protests should not attract disproportionate restrictions.
Thursday's meeting reflected the party leadership's efforts to maintain engagement with its student, youth and service organisations during the continuing political dispute.
Kharge said the commitment demonstrated by the workers strengthened the Congress's resolve to defend democratic rights and institutional credibility.