LONDON, May 22: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has called on overseas party workers in the UK to work hard to help the Opposition win the upcoming elections, after Rahul Gandhi connected members of the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) UK with his mother in a “surprise” phone call during his ongoing London visit.
Rahul Gandhi met IOC UK team members on Saturday to discuss party-related matters and listen to their views and concerns.
IOC UK President Kamal Dhaliwal and other team members present at the meeting urged him to take over the party’s presidency so the Congress can “come into power under his leadership”.
“In a surprise move, Rahul Gandhi ji connected IOC team members to Sonia Gandhi ji over the phone, during which Mrs Gandhi motivated all the team members to work hard for the party and win the upcoming elections,” IOC UK said in a statement.
IOC Telangana team members, spokesperson Sudhakar Goud and general secretary Gampa Venugopal, expressed their gratitude to the party president for the formation of the state in 2014 and Sonia Gandhi called on them to “work hard to win the Telangana state elections”.
While Telangana is scheduled for Assembly polls next year, the next general election in India will take place in 2024.
During his meeting with overseas workers, Rahul Gandhi is said to have reiterated his stance that the party is geared up for an ideological fight in India.
“He said we are not fighting against any one political organisation but against a harmful ideology and to protect the institutions of the country,” an IOC UK spokesperson said.
IOC UK vice-president Gurminder Randhawa updated the Congress leader of the women’s wing’s activities in UK as well as a stock take of recently held state elections in Punjab as part of what was described as a “positive and interactive session” with the IOC UK team.
During his UK visit, Rahul Gandhi addressed the Ideas for India conference on Friday, attended by other Opposition members including CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and TMC’s Mahua Moitra.
“Democracy in India is a global public good. We’re the only people who have managed democracy at our unparalleled scale,” he said at the event organised by think tank Bridge India.
Rahul Gandhi would meet members of Parliament here on Monday before an interaction with students at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, at an event entitled “India at 75”. (PTI)
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