Not enough to be active on social media, go to people directly: Sonia Gandhi tells party workers

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday urged party workers to fight against the Narendra Modi-led central government's policies by approaching people directly stating that it is "not enough to be active and aggressive on the social media."

In her opening remarks at a meeting of party general secretaries, state unit chiefs and Congress legislature party leaders here, Gandhi said, "Democracy has never been at greater peril than it is now. As I said a few weeks back, the mandate of 2019 is now being misused and abused in a most dangerous fashion."

She added, "The country is looking to us to confront and combat these forces -forces that appropriate Gandhiji, Sardar Patel, Dr B R Ambedkar and misrepresent their true message for their nefarious ends. We must stand up fearlessly to fight on the streets, fight in villages, towns and cities. We must have a concrete agitational agenda on issues of pressing concern to the people - whether they be economic or social. It is not enough to be active and aggressive on social media even though that too is needed and we need to do that better. Far more important is to go to the people directly."

Gandhi told party leaders that the meeting is taking place at a time when there is a "prolonged economic slump, when job losses are mounting by the day, when the confidence of the investors is getting shakier by the day, when the government appears more and more clueless and insensitive by the day."

"We are also meeting at a time when vendetta politics is at its peak and when those who speak out against the ruling establishment are being threatened and intimidated. Each and every institution is being diabolically subverted. The voices of dissent are being silenced," she said.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party was seen to have highlighted its issues through press conferences and social media but was seen to be less active in holding agitations or organising marches.

Talking about the leaders who recently left the party, Gandhi said, "All I can say is that they have revealed their opportunistic character.