The Congress will hold public agitations to highlight the failures of the Karnataka government.
Congress's Rahul Gandhi today asked party leaders from Karnataka not to play into the hands of the BJP in its plans to polarize the state through the hijab issue. The BJP-ruled state – where the row over the use of headscarves in educational institutions has emerged as a divisive issue -- is heading for assembly elections next year.
At a meeting with senior party leaders from Karnataka -- including the leaders of the opposition in both houses of the state assembly, the party's state unit chief and other office bearers -- Mr Gandhi asked that they focus on the core governance issues. The Bommai government, he said, has failed to deliver on those.
The Congress plans to hold a series of public agitations to highlight the failures of the state's BJP government, senior party leader Randeep Surjewala said after the closed-door meeting in Delhi.
The leaders have planned to highlight the cyrpto currency scam, 40 per cent corruption in government contracts, apart from lack of employment, rising prices and various local issues, he added.
"Now that the assembly polls are only 14 months away, those issues as preparation for the elections were deliberated upon," Mr Surjewala told reporters.
The mega meeting took place amid a division among senior leaders within the state, who feel the BJP is succeeding in polarising the people and the party needs clarity on this issue, especially in view of the recent hijab-related protests and violence.
Officially, the party has not spoken much on the hijab issue, maintaining that the matter is pending in the court.
Mr Gandhi had earlier spoken on slammed the controversy, saying the country is "robbing the future of its daughters" by letting this come in the way of their education.
"Ma Saraswati gives knowledge to all. She doesn't differentiate," he had also tweeted, with the hashtag "#SaraswatiPuja".
State Congress chief DK Shivkumar, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and other leaders have assured Mr Gandhi that if the Congress works together, it would be able to succeed and defeat the BJP in the assembly elections due next year.