'We have to convert Congress into cadre-based party': D K Shivakumar

Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar on Monday stressed on the need to convert his party into a "cadre-based party", and said that a programme will be launched in the state to achieve this.

Shivakumar, who is also the state's Deputy Chief Minister, said preparations are on to dissolve all the block units of the Karnataka Congress, aimed at giving opportunity to new faces.

He was speaking at an event organised by the state Congress to commemorate former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's death anniversary.

"I'm making a request to you. I'm telling all our office bearers and giving a call to all our district presidents, who have been (in posts) for ten years or five years or two terms that we are preparing to dissolve all the blocks of the party to give opportunities to new faces," Shivakumar said.

He told the partymen that the Congress now needed new blood.

"I'm giving you a task on June 1. I have called a KPCC office bearers meeting. We are starting a new programme called 'Congress Kutumba (family)', in every booth, 50 families should be made members...If we don't make our party a cadre-based party now....look the way BJP uses RSS (cadres) during elections," he added.

Claiming that BJP president J P Nadda had said that his party would do an election without RSS, Shivakumar said, "Without RSS they (BJP) are zero. I don't want to get into it now, I will speak about it some other time."

He urged the Congressmen to take responsibility and contribute to the party irrespective of how much ever big leaders they are -- whether an MP or an MLA or ministers or office bearers. "We have to grow this Kutumba (family), we have to convert it into a cadre-based party and give strength to workers, everyone should be prepared for it." Further stating that he had discussions with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar said, that all ministers including the CM will spend three hours one day every month at the party office to meet the karyakartas.

"There will be a system in place for this. Whoever wants to meet has to make a prior appointment for the same. They have to fix the time by submitting an application with the membership number. Representation will be given to all districts. If one doesn't get an opportunity this month, they will chance next month.

"Office bearers and a working president will be given the responsibility to oversee this and to coordinate," he said, adding that this is exclusively for the party workers.

Noting that this Congress government in Karnataka has four more years, Shivakumar said, this is not a four years government, it is a ten years government. "We will have to prepare a road map and a foundation for this, from now itself."

He told partymen "With your struggle, you have brought the Congress government to power in Karnataka. You have contributed to the formation of this government, Also, the people of the state showed their trust in us." Shivakumar, also noted that INDI Alliance had its beginnings in Bengaluru, and said, "Karnataka played a foundation role. All the leaders of various parties had come down here and it was here that the bloc was named INDI Alliance.

Suggesting that there are good signs from everywhere in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, the KPCC chief said, "If there are no issues with EVMs and other things, I'm confident that the people have completely blessed us." Pointing out that the party during the parliamentary polls gave tickets to new faces without any trouble, Shivakumar said, this was done keeping the future in mind.

"We had given priority to youths, who had worked for the organisation. Few of them may be, were children of ministers, but they too had identified themselves with the organisation," he added.

Shivakumar also shared plans to lay the foundation for the construction of party offices in all the districts of the state in the next year.

"We will also construct a new Bengaluru city office, and will also demolish and reconstruct another party office in the city's Racecourse Road," he said, urging all party workers, ministers and leaders to take accountability.