AHMEDABAD: Setting the tone for the second day of the Congress party’s national convention in Ahmedabad, senior party leader Shashi Tharoor reflected on the party’s showing in recent polls — while it doubled its strength in the Lok Sabha in 2024, its performance in state elections remained a concern.
Emphasising the urgency of the moment, he urged delegates to treat the AICC session not as a routine gathering but as a pivotal turning point for the party’s future.
Tharoor linked this call for transformation with a broader ideological reaffirmation, reiterating the Grand Old Party’s vision for an inclusive India where one could be a proud Gujarati, a proud Muslim, and a proud Indian.
He also called out “attempts to stoke regional discord, especially along a North-South faultline,” and invoked Malayalam poet Vallathol Narayana Menon to underline that regional pride must serve, not splinter, the national purpose.
Echoing Tharoor’s words, AICC general secretary Sachin Pilot reaffirmed the party’s commitment to secularism. “Our message is clear — drop hate, unite India,” he said.