From Kashmir to Kanyakumari: Congress set to mount counterattack on BJP over National Herald

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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