Secularism is at the heart of the Congressional value system, Rahul Gandhi tells the party’s top brass

Lok Sabha Lop and MP Rahul Gandhi at the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in Ahmedabad. |Picture source: ANI

Secularism is at the heart of Congress, the party should not shy away from party, and every believer of faith must seek equal respect, former congressional chiefs and opposition leaders are said to have been told by Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in lok Sabha Rahul Gandi during a closed brainstorming meeting on Tuesday (April 8, 2025).

Mr Gandhi asserted that Congress could not be seen as a “community/religion” party, as the Extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) held a heated debate on the main resolution at the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting on Wednesday.

Mr Gandhi answered a question about CWC members, including Shashi Tharoor, a strategy to fight polarization, and Gandhi said that his party colleagues should not be ambiguous about a person’s religious identity if attacked due to faith.

“If you attack Muslims, Christians or Sikhs, we must say that clearly.”

Opposition leaders reiterated that Congress lost support among other backward classes (OBCs) after 1991. He said the country could not reiterate his concern for social justice by ignoring about 50% of the population OBC, 22% of Dalits and Adivasis, and reiterating his concern for social justice.

The AICC meeting will approve two resolutions: one on national issues, reflecting the party’s political, economic and social justice, and the other in Gujarat.

The main resolution will reaffirm the party’s ideological framework, its position in contemporary political development, and put down the roadmap for organizational reform. AICC Secretary-General KC Venugopal announced at a press conference with the party’s communications chief Jairam Ramesh in terms of organizational reform that the party will carry out a “massive organizational reorganization”.

Reflecting the party’s strong views on a host of issues, sources said the resolution is likely to describe the passage of Waqf Amendment Act as part of BJP’s “polarising narrative” and mention the Union government’s response to international events such as reciprocal tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, deaths of innocents in the Palestine-Israel conflict, targeting of minorities in Bangladesh and the face-off with China as “weak-kneed and obedient”.

The resolution will also include the party’s understanding of nationalism, a commitment to provide farmers with minimum support price (MSP) and talk about the empowerment of women who make up half of India’s population.

The party called itself a “guardian of democracy and a constitutional defender” and expressed concern about the operation of autonomous institutions, including the Election Commission.