Maharashtra Congress begins 10-day training camp for newly appointed district presidents in Nashik

The party said the camp is aimed at strengthening communication between district-level leadership and grassroots workers. PIC/CONGRESS

The Maharashtra Congress on Monday began a 10-day residential training camp in Nashik for newly appointed district presidents selected under the party's Sanghatan Srujan Abhiyan, with senior leaders and experts set to guide participants on organisational strategy, leadership, and election management.

The camp was inaugurated in the presence of Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal, Congress Working Committee member Balasaheb Thorat, AICC training department head Sachin Rao, AICC Secretary, and Maharashtra co-in-charge Rehana Chishti, MP Dr Shobha Bachhav, Maharashtra training department head Ashutosh Shirke, and senior MPCC leaders Mohan Joshi and Rajaram Pangavhane.

The programme began with the lighting of a ceremonial lamp and the collective singing of Vande Mataram.

Congress focuses on strengthening grassroots organisation

The 10-day programme will focus on the Congress ideology, organisational development, leadership, public outreach, election management and strategies to deal with upcoming political challenges.

The party said the camp is aimed at strengthening communication between district-level leadership and grassroots workers and making the organisation more effective and closely connected with citizens.

Speaking to reporters, Sapkal said senior Congress leaders and experts from different fields would conduct sessions during the camp.

AICC general secretary KC Venugopal is scheduled to address the participants on the ninth day, while Rahul Gandhi is expected to attend the concluding session.

Sapkal said the programme would include both discussions and practical experiences, with district presidents expected to take the issues and positions raised by Rahul Gandhi to the grassroots.

Sapkal accuses BJP of misleading people over women's reservation

Sapkal also hit out at the BJP over the issue of women's reservation, alleging that the party was attempting to mislead people.

Referring to Rahul Gandhi's 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' programme in Pune, Sapkal said Gandhi had spoken about women from different communities and highlighted their concerns. He alleged that the BJP was attempting to give the issue a religious colour.

Sapkal said the Women's Reservation Bill was passed by Parliament in 2023 but alleged that the BJP now wanted to bring in a delimitation Bill under the guise of women's reservation.

He dismissed the allegations made by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other BJP leaders, saying they had no basis.

‘SIR exercise is being conducted in haste'

Sapkal also criticised the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, alleging that the process was being carried out in haste.

He said the August 17 deadline should have been extended by another two to three months to allow the exercise to be completed smoothly.

Alleging that the BJP had earlier attempted "vote theft" and was now trying to "steal voter lists", Sapkal described the alleged process as a move towards authoritarianism.

Sapkal questions presence of BLOs at Hyderabad House

The Maharashtra Congress chief also questioned why Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were allegedly called to Hyderabad House in Nagpur with mapping-related documents.

Sapkal claimed that Hyderabad House serves as the Chief Minister's residence and office and questioned why BLOs were asked to bring the documents there.

He further questioned whether institutions such as the Supreme Court and High Court would also be expected to function from the Chief Minister's office in a similar manner.