THE Congress on Thursday asserted that it would take all necessary steps to make the I.N.D.I.A. bloc an effective bulwark and force against the BJP and its allies, while vowing to be fully prepared at the earliest to fight the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. In a resolution that was passed unanimously after a four-hour meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party also alleged that the suspension of MPs from Parliament was done to ensure that the Opposition was not present to challenge the Narendra Modi Government “as it bulldozed three draconian criminal justice laws through”.

 

The CWC, the party’s highest decision-making body, condemned in the strongest possible terms the suspension of more than 140 MPs of the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc from the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. These MPs were simply demanding that Home Minister Amit Shah makes a statement on the “extraordinary events” of December 13 in the Lok Sabha and on the role of the BJP MP from Mysuru in “facilitating the entry of the two intruders” who caused a serious security breach, the resolution said. Opposition parties have slammed the suspensions, noting that no actionhas been taken against BJP MPPrathap Simha, who facilitated the passes of the two security breach accused. The meeting of the CWC was chaired by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and Congress Parliamentary Partychair person Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi were among the 76 leaders attending the meeting.

 

The Congress has expressed its firmest resolve to be fully preparedat the earliest to fight the Lok Sabha electionsbothas a party and also as a member of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A.), the resolution said. The CWC also reiterated the determination of the Congress to take all necessary steps to make the I.N.D.I.A. bloc “an effective bulwark and force against the BJP and its allies”, it said. It noted that preparations for the Lok Sabha polls have already commenced. “The ‘Hain Taiyyar Hum’ rally being held in Nagpur on our Foundation Day a week fromnow isavery important step in this regard,” it said. The Congress President has been conducting statewise reviews which are giving direction to the preparations, the resolution said.