The newly elected BJP government in West Bengal will be no different from other parts of the country where the party is in power, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said, accusing the ruling party of undermining the Constitution and attacking the livelihoods of ordinary people.
Mr. Venugopal made these remarks in Kolkata after an organisational review of the State unit in Bengal following the recent Assembly elections.
During his visit to Kolkata, he also met senior journalist former editor of The Telegraph, R. Rajagopal, and alleged that he had been subjected to harassment following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
In a post on X, Mr. Venugopal said Mr. Rajagopal’s passport renewal had been denied after his name was excluded from the electoral rolls despite his having been a voter in Kolkata since 2010.
He alleged that while Mr. Rajagopal’s appeal against the exclusion was pending, the passport authorities had rejected his renewal application, describing the episode as “vendetta politics” and a dangerous precedent of using the SIR process to deprive citizens of essential documents.
Addressing a press conference after a two-day organisational review meeting, Mr. Venugopal alleged that the BJP did not believe in the Constitution.
“They do not believe in the Constitution. They want to destroy the livelihood of the common people. That is why they have started evicting hawkers. The Congress will stand with the poor and continue its fight against the BJP,” he said.
On Monday (June 29, 2026), he met district Congress presidents and AICC members from the State, while Tuesday’s (June 30, 2026) meeting was attended by Congress candidates who had contested the Assembly polls.
The meetings were attended by AICC Working Committee member Deepa Dasmunshi, AICC in-charge of West Bengal Ghulam Ahmad Mir and West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Shubhankar Sarkar.
Responding to questions on the INDIA bloc and criticism of its functioning, Mr. Venugopal said the alliance remained united in opposing the BJP and the RSS despite political differences among its constituents.
“In Kerala, we are fighting the CPI(M). In Punjab, we are fighting the AAP. But when the BJP and the RSS are attacking pluralism, democracy and constitutional rights, we are united in opposing them. That is the purpose of the INDIA bloc,” he said.
Stepping up his attack on the BJP, Mr. Venugopal alleged that the party sought to dictate every aspect of public life.
“Not providing eggs in the mid-day meal scheme shows that the BJP wants to decide what students should eat. It wants to impose its dominance everywhere. It is pushing for the Uniform Civil Code and introducing laws in legislatures with the real intention of suppressing dissent,” he alleged.
On alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Mr. Venugopal alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad were involved in the incident and questioned the BJP’s silence.
He said the Congress had also reviewed its preparations for the upcoming bypolls and civic body elections in the State, adding that a decision on possible electoral alliances would be taken after assessing the prevailing political situation.
Meanwhile, State Congress spokesperson Suman Roy Chowdhury said the party had received permission from the Army authorities for its proposed “Chalo Shaheed Minar” programme in Kolkata on July 21.
Published - July 01, 2026 09:17 am IST
Source: The Hindu - India News
