Belagavi Cong session centenary to commemorate freedom fighters' role in attaining Independence

Belagavi: The grand public meeting on December 27, part of the centenary celebrations of the historic 1924 Belagavi Congress Session, has been named the Jai Bapu-Jai Bhim-Jai Samvidhan Convention.

Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar, addressing a press conference at CPED School Grounds on Tuesday, shared details of the upcoming events.

Various programs are held as part of the centenary celebration including the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Dec 26 and a public meeting on Dec 27.

“We have declared this area as Mahatma Gandi Navanagara. The Congress Working Committee meeting would be held near Gandhi Well (Pampa Sarovara). Mahatma Gandhi presided over the Congress convention in 1924. It is a matter of pride that our own Mallikarjun Kharge is presiding over this convention. We are conducting this convention in the same 80-acre land which was the venue for the 1924 convention,” he said.

He highlighted the significance of the event: “This is not just a Congress program; it is for everyone. Back then, our leaders guided the freedom movement and became the architects of our independence. In today’s context, we will discuss in the Working Committee meeting about the direction in which the country should move forward and how to empower the nation," he added.

The documents of the 1924 convention have been collected and the reprinted version will be released tomorrow.

Asked about the agenda of the CWC meeting, he said, “Our national leaders would finalize the agenda. The draft committee has been discussing the agenda for some time now.”

On a question, if the incident of insult to Ambedkar would be discussed in the meeting, he said the event has been named ‘Jai Bapu-Jai Bhim-Jai Samvidhan convention.’

When asked about the statement that no proposal had been sent from the state government to the Centre, he said, "We are doing what needs to be done in our state. Let the Central Government fulfill its responsibilities and take up programs. Do they lack awareness about Gandhi? The BJP cannot claim Gandhi as their own. They have no history of the freedom struggle. The history of the freedom struggle belongs only to the Congress," he remarked sharply.

A statue of Mahatma Gandhi will be unveiled at Veera Soudha at 10 am on December 26. Khadi Mela will be inaugurated at 10:45 am. The Chief Minister and DCM will inaugurate Sri Gangadhar Deshpande Memorial. A photo gallery of Gangadhar Deshpande will also be inaugurated. The CWC meeting will be held at 3 pm and AICC President will host a dinner for the guests at 7 pm.

On December 27, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi would unveil the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Suvarna Soudha at 10.30 am. The CM will preside and the programme will be held under the joint leadership of Speaker U T Khader and Council Chairman Basvaraj Horatti. All leaders cutting across party lines have been invited to the event. A mega public meeting will be held at 1 pm.