Bengaluru: After becoming AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge, who arrived in Bangalore for the first time was given a rousing welcome by AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, KPCC President DK Shivakumar, Assembly Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah, Party MLAs and office bearers received the newly elected national president at Kempegowda International Airport. A Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka and a former Union minister, Kharge was elected as the Congress president on October 19 after defeating rival
Shashi Tharoor. 80-year-old Kharge, a Gandhi family loyalist, hails from Kalaburagi in Karnataka. He is the first Congress president in the last 24 years from the non-Gandhi family.He is the second AICC president from Karnataka, the first one being Nijalingappa. He is also the second dalit Congress president after Jagjivan Ram. Speaking at felicitation ceremony “ Sarvodaya Samavesha” organised by KPCC, He urged his party leaders in Karnataka to bury their differences and work towards bringing the congress back to power and stressing up the need to remain united to remove the BJP from power in 2023 election. He said,” All you should jointly make an effort to get our government back in Karnataka. Only then will I feel honoured to the president . Otherwise there is no meaning in being honoured at a function like this.” Kharge said congress party must popularise schemes which were launched during the siddaramaiah government also bring back disgruntled leaders who have left or distanced themselves from the party.
Kharge in his speech attacked PM for not speaking a word till date on assaults against women and Dalits in the country and accused him of diverting peoples attention by going to caves and temple. He blamed gujrat government and PM for recent morbi bridge collapse, an incident in which 135 people died.
The felicitation event at Palace Grounds here that drew thousands also saw a host of State and national Congress leaders in attendance. Congress leaders said It will be the grand old party’s show of strength in the poll-bound Karnataka, where the assembly elections are due in less than six months.
