New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) In a powerful show of unity and resolve, the Congress is launching a nationwide campaign to counter what it calls the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) “web of lies” and “anti-national attempts” to dismantle The National Herald, a publication deeply intertwined with India’s freedom struggle.
From April 21 to 24, 57 Congress leaders will fan out across 57 cities, holding press conferences to “expose the lies of the BJP” and reach out to the public, said Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera in a post on X.
The grand old party alleges that the BJP is targeting The National Herald as part of a broader strategy to erase historical institutions that symbolise India’s democratic journey and the sacrifices of its freedom fighters.
Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh described the campaign as “a battle for India’s soul.” He said the BJP’s actions reflect “a disturbing attempt to suppress independent voices and rewrite history.”
Congress senior leaders will address the media in major cities spanning the length and breadth of India – from Vijayawada to Varanasi and from Kashmir to Thiruvananthapuram – highlighting the campaign’s national scope.
The press meets will aim to shed light on the BJP’s “vindictive misuse of agencies” and what the Congress calls “an assault on press freedom”.
Among the leaders participating are senior Congress figures, former Union Ministers, and Members of Parliament, each chosen for their regional influence and national stature.
The Congress contends that the attack on The National Herald is not merely political but an ideological part of a larger plan to weaken institutions that stood firm during India’s independence movement.
The party said it would continue to resist any such attempts with “truth, constitutional values, and the people’s support.”
The campaign signals that the Congress is seeking to galvanise public opinion not only around current issues but also around the legacy of India’s freedom and the institutions born from it, say party leaders.
Here is the list of Congress leaders who will hold press conferences in 57 cities from April 21-24:
1) AP, Vijayawada – Manickam Tagore
2) AP, Visakhapatnam – Salman Soz
3) Assam, Guwahati – Neeraj Dangi
4) Assam, Jorhat – Gaurav Gogoi
5) Bihar, Patna – Avinash Pande
6) Bihar, Gaya – Rajesh Thakur
7) Chhattisgarh, Raipur – Supriya Shrinate
8) Delhi, DPCC – P. Chidambaram
9) Goa – Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain
10) Gujarat, Ahmedabad – Vijay Inder Singla
11) Gujarat, Rajkot – Wg Cdr Ms. Anuma Acharya
12) Gujarat, Surat – Dr Ajoy Kumar
13) Gujarat, Baroda – Atul Londhe
14) Haryana, Chandigarh – Jitendra Singh
15) Haryana, Faridabad – Mumtaz Patel
16) HP, Dharamshala – Pranav Jha
17) HP, Shimla – Ashok Gehlot
18) J&K, Jammu – Akhilesh Pratap Singh
19) J&K, Srinagar – Adv Ms. Nighat Abbass
20) Jharkhand, Dhanbad – Dolly Sharma
21) Jharkhand, Ranchi – Jignesh Mevani
22) Karnataka, Bengaluru – MM Pallamraju
23) Karnataka, Belgaum – Prithviraj Chavan
24) Kerala, Kochi – Deepender S. Hooda
25) Kerala, Kozhikode – K. Raju
26) Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram – Deepa Dasmunshi
27) Lakshadweep – Shashi Tharoor
28) Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal – Km Selja
29) Madhya Pradesh, Indore – Harish Choudhary
30) Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur – Subhashini Sharad Yadav
31) Maharashtra, Aurangabad – Dr Anshul Avijit
32) Maharashtra, Nagpur – Prof. Ajay Upadhyay
33) Maharashtra, Pune – Prof Rajeev Gowda
34) Mumbai, Mumbai PCC – Pawan Khera
35) Manipur, Imphal – Antony Mathew
36) Odisha, Bhubaneswar – Bhupesh Baghel
37) Puducherry, Pondicherry – Mohan Kumarmanglam
38) Punjab, Amritsar – Gurdeep Sappal
39) Punjab, Chandigarh – Manish Tiwari
40) Rajasthan, Ajmer – Dr Shama Mohd
41) Rajasthan, Jaipur – Dr Kanhaiya Kumar
42) Rajasthan, Jodhpur – Tanuj Punia
43) Rajasthan, Udaipur – Abhay Dubey
44) Tamil Nadu, Chennai – Ms. Lavanya Ballal Jain
45) Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore – Amitabh Dubey
46) Tamilnadu, Madurai – Ms. Bhavya Narsimhamurthy
47) Telangana, Hyderabad – Randeep Singh Surjewala
48) Tripura, Agartala – Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka
49) UP, Agra – Ranjeet Ranjan
50) UP, Kanpur – Dr Ragini Nayak
51) UP, Lucknow – Tariq Anwar
52) UP, Saharanpur – Rajeev Shukla
53) UP, Varanasi – Ms. Alka Lamba
54) UP, Merrut – Ritu Chaudhary
55) Uttarakhand, Dehradun – Dr Udit Raj
56) West Bengal, Darjeeling – Adv Ms. Mahima Singh
57) West Bengal, Kolkata – G.A. Mir
–IANS
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