Congress CWC: Education Revamp Plan, Two-Stanza Vande Mataram, and Key Poll Demands
New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body, met on Wednesday to discuss a range of political and policy issues, including education reforms, the Vande Mataram controversy, and electoral demands. The meeting was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and several chief ministers.
The CWC directed all Congress-ruled states to prepare a concrete plan to revamp their education and examination systems within a month. According to sources, Rahul Gandhi asked the chief ministers to base the plan on inputs from experts and student bodies, with the aim of showcasing these reforms as model examples across the country. This move is seen as part of the party's effort to connect with young voters through its 'Chhatron ki Goonj' student conventions, which are to be expanded to 800 towns and cities.
On the Ram temple issue, the Congress announced plans for village-level protests against the alleged misappropriation of donations collected for the temple's construction. Party leaders demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe, arguing that the Prime Minister cannot treat the matter as a state subject after having taken credit for every step leading to the temple's construction, including the announcement of the Ram Temple Trust.
The CWC also passed a resolution calling for the Lok Sabha strength to be frozen at 543 MPs for the next 25 years, and reiterated its demand for women's reservation to be implemented from the 2029 general elections. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is learnt to have suggested that the party should declare Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate for 2029, though no formal decision was announced.
A significant portion of the meeting was devoted to the ongoing controversy over the national song, Vande Mataram. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal told reporters that the party would sing only the two stanzas that were approved by the Constituent Assembly and the party's 1937 resolution. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge read out the 1937 CWC resolution to note that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, and Subhas Chandra Bose had approved the song on the advice of Rabindranath Tagore.
The CWC also expressed concern over reported Chinese incursions in Arunachal Pradesh and the central government's E-20 ethanol policy. It criticized the Modi government's foreign policy, terming it a 'surrender policy' in its dealings with both the US and China, though no specific details were provided.
Rahul Gandhi presented an optimistic outlook for the party, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has 'lost his sheen' and that the mood of the country is changing. He referred to the PM's Independence Day speech to argue that Modi had lost confidence. However, these statements remain the Congress leader's personal assessment rather than an independent fact.
The meeting comes at a time when the Congress is seeking to position itself as the principal challenger to the BJP ahead of the 2029 elections. Political analysts note that the party's focus on education, youth outreach, and constitutional issues reflects an attempt to rebuild its organisational strength after successive electoral setbacks.
