In a desperate attempt to look for the lost ground in Uttar Pradesh, Congress made a move to woo the Brahmin vote bank by organising the 109th birth anniversary of veteran Party leader, late Pandit Kamlapati Tripathi, here on Wednesday.
Interestingly, all out efforts have been made to make the anniversary a success and after a long time, host of senior leaders from the state participated in the function remembering contribution of the one of the top Brahmin leaders, besides Nehru’s family in the State. Surprisingly, not only this, when Kamlapati hails from Varanasi, the holy city from where now Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is a Member of Parliament, Congress reportedly decided to organise the anniversary function here at lucknow every year from now, as being the state capital they would be able to look back for the Brahmin community, which one happened to be a biggest vote bank of the Congress, besides dalits, backwards and Muslims.
In a function organised here at Ravindralya, general secretary of All India Congress Committee, Madhusudan Mistri, who is also incharge of the party affairs here in UP, tried to send a message that what place did Pandit Kamlapati had in minds of party president, Sonia Gandhi, that she did not kept any meeting for the day so that he (Mistri) could participate in the function here at lucknow. Mistri reminded the work of Pt Kamlapati and remembered of rich political values which the former leader kept through out his life.
State president, Nirmal Khatri, too remembers secular credentials of Kamlapati saying that in 1989, it was that great Congress leader who warned Rajeev Gandhi of rising communal forces in the country and suggested him to form a human chain around disputed shrine at Faizabad, and to give a clear message that if anyone wanted to damage it than he had to first hit them with a spade and then moved forward as they would not allow them to do so till they were alive. Other senior leaders like Pramod Tewari, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Sanjay Singh, Anu Tandon, several MlAs, three secretaries of AICC, and hosts of other leaders also remembered Kamlapati on his birth anniversary. Senior Congress leader, Rajeshpati Tripathi, who is also grandson of Pt Kamlapati, also released a book remembering contribution of the former Congress leader.