In response to a call of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to conduct a 75-km Padayatra in each district from August 9 Kranti Divas to August 14, to mark the 75th year of country’s independence, the Pradesh Congress Committee(PCC) on Monday announced to organise Padayatra in all the 30 districts and 147 Assembly segments.
Accordingly, PCC president Sarat Pattanayak called upon party workers to observe the spirit of independence through conducting Padayatra in each constituency during the period.
Addressing mediapersons, Pattanayak said to achieve India’s independence, the ‘Quit India’ call was given in Congress’s Bombay Session under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. A ‘Do-or-Die’ battle was started to oust the Britishers, and leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Ballavbhai Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Dr Rajendra Prasad, etc led from the front.
After Independence it was the Congress Governments which established IIT (1950), AIIMS (1956), DRDO (1958),IIM (1961),BHEL (1964), ISRO (1869), besides starting rocket launchers in 1963 and conducting nuclear test in 1974 under the visionary Prime Ministership of Nehru and Indira Gandhi. During the period of Congress, the Green Revolution and White Revolution were started to make the country self- reliant in agriculture and dairy products.
The senior Congress leader said party workers have been asked to take these messages to the people so that people would be aware of false claims of the BJP and the Modi Government which did nothing in the last eight years except handing over precious resources of the Government to corporate houses and burdened people with price rise and taxes.
The RSS which had never hoisted the national flag in its headquarters since 1947 for 52 years is now saying about Triranga, quipped Pattanayak.