Cong flag march against govt to mark party's foundation day

The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) will take out 'Save Bharat-Save Constitution' flag march here on December 28, on the occasion of the party's foundation day, to protest against the "undemocratic and unconstitutional" policies of the BJP government.

The flag march will start at 10 am from August Kranti Maidan and end near the Lokmanya Tilak statue at Girgaum chowpatty, party's state unit president and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat told reporters here on Thursday.

He appealed to the secular organisations, party workers and citizens to participate in the flag march.

Thorat said it was on December 28, 1885 that the Congress was founded in Mumbai.

In the very first session of the party, it was decided to adopt the policy of 'All India One Nation' and it vowed to overcome any discrimination whether based on caste, region or religion, Thorat said.

"Keeping up with this motto, the Congress started the Independence movement. It was during this movement that India got independence under the leadership of Lokmanya Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi," he added.

After the Independence, our Constitution was written under the leadership of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. And the country is run as per this Constitution, the Congress leader said.

"But the BJP government's unconstitutional and anti- democratic nature of policies and decisions are causing divisions in the society on the basis of religion. The Centre has attacked the basic tenets of the Constitution like freedom of speech, brotherhood, democracy," he alleged.

The BJP government has brought back the divide-and- rule policy used by the British. And so we will have to once again start an independence movement, this time against the BJP rule, he said.

The Union government is trying to suppress the voice of the common man, he alleged.

"To protest against this, the MPCC has organised a' Save Bharat-Save Constitution' flag march on December 28, on the party's foundation day," he said.

The party plans to hold similar flag marches in several other cities of the state on Saturday.