Gaurav Gogoi calls for purge of dual loyalties: Congress must choose loyalty over convenience

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaApril 9, 2025

In a firm message at the Congress plenary session in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, senior Congress leader and MP from Jorhat, Gaurav Gogoi, made a no-nonsense appeal to party leadership: identify and expel those who are playing both sides. “Anyone doing Congress with one foot in the party and the other in another party must go,” Gogoi said, echoing a recent call by Rahul Gandhi during his Gujarat visit.

Gogoi’s remarks come at a time when the party is looking inward to reorganize and refocus ahead of critical Assembly elections in Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Kerala, and Assam. He underlined the importance of rooting out opportunism and prioritizing loyalty and grassroots strength if the party wants to stage a serious comeback.

Gogoi began his address by thanking Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi for declaring 2025 as the “Year of Organization” and for holding intensive four-day discussions with district-level leaders. He said this direct engagement sent a strong signal to party workers that their voices matter.

“If we want to win elections, we must start by backing those who have stood with the party through thick and thin—workers who never sold out, even under pressure, even when offered money or power,” he said.

He described the “hardcore Congress worker” as someone who has faced police batons, threats, and political intimidation but remained loyal to the party. “These are the people who kept the Congress flag flying when it wasn’t easy. If we stand with them, we don’t need shortcuts to win.”

Drawing a sharp contrast with the BJP, Gogoi criticized the ruling party for operating like a “private limited company,” driven by hierarchy and centralization. In contrast, he described the Congress as a “family” that should run on relationships and mutual trust, not command and control.

“Our workers don’t need rewards. A call from a senior leader, a pat on the back, a few words of encouragement—that’s enough for them to hit the streets, face the heat, even go to jail if needed,” Gogoi said. “That’s what makes the Congress different.”

He also invoked the Congress’s ethos of pluralism and national unity. “Our culture teaches us to say ‘Jai Hind’ with pride, but also ‘Jai Telangana,’ ‘Jai Bangla,’ and ‘Jai Ai Assam.’ We don’t believe in erasing identity—we believe in embracing it. That’s our nationalism: unity without uniformity.”

Gogoi closed his speech with a reminder of who the Congress stands for. “This party belongs to every Indian—no matter their language, religion, region, or caste. We are the Congress of the people. That’s our identity, and that’s who we must fight for.”

His speech served as both a warning to opportunists and a rallying cry for loyalists, laying down a clear vision for a Congress revival built on discipline, grassroots connection, and inclusive nationalism.