GUWAHATI: Former Assam chief minister, Tarun Gogoi has underlined the need for Congress to explore an “RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)-like model” to connect with the masses.
RSS is widely regarded as the parent organisation of the ruling BJP.
Admitting that the Congress lacked strategy in the recently held Lok Sabha elections that saw BJP secure a thumping win and retain power, Gogoi said the party would move ahead and form RSS-like cadres to establish strong contacts with the grassroots.
“We are against the ideology of RSS, but we will follow its cadre-based model of reaching out to and connecting with the masses. The cadres and booth level committees will have a better understanding of the schemes and condition in the rural areas,” the veteran Congressman told reporters here on Monday.
He underlined the need for Congress to take up an “action plan on mission mode” if it has to achieve 80 seats in the 2021 Assembly elections.
“Congress has to take on the ruling BJP government just like our party leaders took on the British rulers,” Gogoi said.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora had recently said the party had set a mission to win 80 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls in a move to counter BJP’s mission of 100 seats.
Slamming the incumbent party, Gogoi said, “We do not know how the BJP government came to power. There are no schemes for indigenous communities, no jobs for youths, no regard for teachers. Instead what we have seen is that BJP has laid emphasis on corporate governance at the cost of small scale industries which are struggling.”
He further said that ministry of home affairs had been supplementing resources to the state under the Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF) scheme, which has been stopped under the guidance of the BJP.