Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday interacted with leaders of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), National Students' Union of India (NSUI) and Seva Dal amid the party's ongoing protests against the government and the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged electoral irregularities.
The meeting was held at the Congress headquarters, Indira Bhawan, in the presence of party general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Sharing pictures of the interaction on X, Kharge said India's youth had always played a key role in shaping the country's political direction. He praised the leaders of the three organisations for challenging what he described as the Modi government's authoritarianism, despite police crackdowns during protests.
The Congress chief said the party's youth and frontal organisations remained committed to holding the government accountable, defending democratic rights and safeguarding the credibility of institutions.
Those who attended the meeting included NSUI president Vinod Jakhar, Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib and Seva Dal chief organiser B V Srinivas. NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar and Youth Congress in-charge Manish Sharma were also present.
Sources said the senior Congress leaders thanked and encouraged the organisations' leaders and workers for their participation in the recent protests against the Election Commission and the SIR exercise, and for standing firm in the face of alleged police excesses.
The leadership also commended their efforts to challenge the government and raise issues affecting people, particularly the youth, the sources said.
The Congress has been holding a series of protests since last week over the revision of electoral rolls and alleged poll irregularities, targeting both the government and the Election Commission.