Latest news with #GujaratPradeshCongressCommittee
India.com
18-07-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Congress To Rebuild Ground Network From Booth To State, Says New Gujarat Unit Chief
AHMEDABAD: Newly appointed Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Chavda has pledged to lead a proactive, people-centric opposition aimed at ensuring the welfare, peace, prosperity, and security of Gujarat's citizens. Addressing party workers and the press following his return from Delhi, Chavda said the Congress would firmly raise the voice of the common people, especially at a time when the "double-engine BJP government is actively suppressing it". Chavda, a former state Congress president and seasoned MLA, said the party would launch an extensive 'Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan', strengthening the organisation from booth to state level. "We will ensure that grassroots workers are empowered and their voices reflected in all party decisions," he said, adding that new faces would be given opportunities as part of a renewed organisational structure. Expressing gratitude to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, and Gujarat in-charge Mukul Wasnik for entrusting him with the leadership, Chavda also thanked thousands of Congress workers and leaders who welcomed him at Ahmedabad airport upon his arrival. He emphasised that the Congress will intensify its outreach efforts, build direct public engagement, and fight for key issues affecting Gujarat. "We will fight for the rights of youth, farmers, women, the marginalised, and the oppressed. The present government thrives on bureaucratic overreach, commission raj, and corruption. It must be challenged head-on," he said. Chavda criticised the BJP-led state government for its alleged authoritarianism, accusing it of stifling democratic dissent. "Citizens are being harassed for voicing concerns. Journalists and whistleblowers are threatened into silence. This undeclared emergency must end, and Congress workers will be at the forefront to protect democracy," he declared. Referring to growing public anger, he said: "Bridges are collapsing, people are dying, daughters are being pushed to suicide, and cattle farmers are being cane-charged for raising their demands. The people of Gujarat are losing faith in the BJP." Quoting Rahul Gandhi's recent speech in Parliament, Chavda said the Congress is committed to defeating the BJP in Gujarat and restoring true democratic governance. 'We will fight together, as one Congress family from the top leadership to the last worker on the ground and ensure that the people of Gujarat reclaim their rights and dignity,' he concluded.
The Hindu
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Amit Chavda appointed Gujarat Congress president, Tushar Chaudhary to lead legislature party
Weeks after Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief Shaktisinh Gohil stepped down following the party's poor performance in the recent Assembly bypolls, the Congress on Thursday appointed senior leader Amit Chavda as the new state unit president. The party also named former Union Minister Tushar Chaudhary as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in the Gujarat Assembly, replacing Mr. Chavda in that role. 'Congress president has appointed Mr. Chavda as the president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, with immediate effect. Congress president has also approved the proposal for the appointment of Dr. Chaudhary as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Gujarat, with immediate effect,' said K.C. Venugopal, AICC general secretary (organisation), in a statement. 'The party appreciates the contributions of outgoing PCC president Shaktisinh Gohil,' the statement added. Mr. Gohil had resigned after the Congress failed to secure a win in either of the two Assembly constituencies that went to bypolls last month. He was appointed GPCC president in June 2023, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Reacting to his appointment, Mr. Chavda said in a post on X: 'This is not just a post — it is a solemn responsibility to fight for every Gujarati and uphold the values the Congress Party stands for.' He added, 'As a devoted soldier of the party, I will work day and night to strengthen @INCGujarat, fulfill the aspirations of our people, and realise the vision of @RahulGandhi ji in Gujarat.' Eom/ABH
Indian Express
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Top Gujarat Congress leader arrested over Op Sindoor post: Who is Rajesh Soni?
Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) general secretary Rajesh Soni, arrested for an alleged objectionable post on Operation Sindoor, belongs to a family of jewellers and is a first-generation politician, say his party colleagues. Many in the Congress refer to Soni as the go-to person for 'publicity-related tasks'. At least three top party leaders told The Indian Express that the credit for putting up maximum hoardings and billboards during Congress party events goes to him. However, according to his detractors in the party say 'his billboards would mostly be of his mentors and patrons in the party'. Soni, who is in his forties, was arrested by the Gujarat State Cyber Crime Cell on Friday under sections 152 (endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India) and 353 (making, publishing or circulating statements that could lead to public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS) for alleged posts on his social media handles and pages that were 'demoralising for the Army', as per the FIR. Originally from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Soni joined the Congress in 2015 with his team of supporters. 'Within just a couple of years of his joining the party, he was made an All India Congress Committee (AICC) delegate. Promotions came early for him compared to other senior leaders,' said a Congress leader in the Ahmedabad city unit. He was appointed general secretary of the state unit in 2022 when former MP Jagdish Thakor was the state party president. Thakor described Soni as a person 'who did a lot of charity and was always at the forefront to help during natural calamities', while state Congress spokesperson Amit Nayak recalled how, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Soni ran a community kitchen. Former Union minister Bharatsinh Solanki, who was the state Congress president from 2015 to 2018, told The Indian Express, 'Soni holds an event every year to distribute notebooks to children and this time he invited me. I suggested that he also distribute tablets. He obliged and gave tablets to some five children.' Soni's father, a jewellery businessman from Pali in Rajasthan, came to Ahmedabad for business and the family decided to settle down in the city's Isanpur area, where Soni was born. When he was young, Soni joined his father's business. 'Later, he got into the construction business and launched his own company called Soni Corporation,' said Nayak. Soni's party colleagues said one of the reasons he was being 'targeted' because he is an 'RTI activist' and participates in television debates.'Soni is being targeted because he is a kattar agevan (staunch leader), has been in charge of the party's IT Cell earlier. He is part of our TV debate team and his appearances must have bothered the BJP government,' said Nayak. The spokesperson, who said he was also booked for his social media posts in 2023, added, 'We have decided that all top leaders of the party will repost Rajesh Soni's (alleged objectionable) post and then go to the DGP's (Director General of Police) office to court arrest.' Top Congress leaders such as state Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Amit Chavda have criticised the action against Soni and demanded immediate bail. Gohil said Friday that the Gandhinagar Police cyber crime team picked up Soni as if he were a 'terrorist'. He said Soni's post was more about giving credit to the soldiers for their bravery and saying that 'money from the public treasury should not be used for publicity and … political gains should not be taken in the name of Operation Sindoor'.
Indian Express
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Standing shoulder to shoulder with the government': Congress lauds Operation Sindoor
We are standing shoulder to shoulder with the government,' said Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Shaktisinh Gohil Wednesday while lauding the Indian Armed Forces for carrying out the missile strikes on nine terror targets, under Operation Sindoor, as a response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Gohil said that the Congress and all opposition parties were 'standing shoulder to shoulder with the government' to thwart enemies 'attempting to break the morale by using terrorism'. In a video message posted on Instagram, Gohil congratulated and hailed the Indian Army and said, 'Our soldiers protect the country at the cost of their lives. Their passion is so firm that no matter what the enemy does, the country's army gives an apt reply'. 'We pray to God that the brave soldiers of our country should be blessed and protected to fight the enemy. The strength will come from God's blessings… Those who do not have the courage to fight us straight from the front, use terrorists to attack and break the morale. But our army will deal with them,' he said. Stating that the opposition was with the government on the issue, Gohil said, 'The Congress party, in the national interest, had told the government to take strong steps after the Pahalgam attack and that there would be no politics over this'. 'The Congress party and the opposition parties are standing with the government shoulder to shoulder. Our army will continue to give apt responses to the enemies such that no one will dare to commit such crimes against the country,' he added. Earlier, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had also taken to X to post about Operation Sindoor while Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi put out a series of posts on X about the operation. Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary also posted a message stating that the operation was 'Zero Tolerance to Terror' while MP from Porbandar and Union Minister of Labour and Employment, Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya said, 'The haven of terrorists has been reduced to dust.'
