UP Cong seeks to revive Sewa Dal

After deciding to take out “Prabhat Pheris” in the state, the Congress in Uttar Pradesh will be making another attempt to invoke patriotic passions and also regain its space as a “nationalist and patriotic party” through the Sewa Dal.

The move is apparently designed to counter the efforts being made by the BJP and the RSS to inch closer to the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and “restrict the Congress as a Gandhi- Nehru family”.

The Congress Sewa Dal will be embarking on a “Dhwaj Vandan” programme that had been initiated by Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle with the idea of challenging the British rulers of the time.

“On ‘ Raksha Bandhan’ we will unfurl the Indian flag at public places and invite the local people to join in the programme. A local eminent citizen or a senior party leader will unfurl the flag and we will sing the national anthem and other patriotic songs. The idea is to revive the feeling of patriotism among people and demolish the walls of hatred that are being built up by vested interests”, said UP Sewa Dal convener Dr Pramod Pandey.

The UP Congress has started activating the Sewa Dal to play a more proactive role in reviving the party.

“We are particularly going to address traditional Congress supporters who have receded into the background. Majority of the Congressmen may have turned inactive but have not joined other parties because they still believe in the Congress ideology. Our purpose is to bring these people back into the party mainstream. Many of them are rather old now but we still need their guidance and support”, said a senior party functionary. The functionary further said that these programmmes are not for upcoming polls.