In the contemporary history of Odisha, it is stunning to see the Congress party – which has been reduced to the margins of the state's politics during the last two and half decades – organising a huge rally in Bhubaneswar on July 11 centered around the theme of “Saving the Constitution.”

It is notable that thousands of people attended the rally in spite of the paralysis of transport services in the state because of a strike by drivers of buses, trucks and other commercial vehicles for fulfilment of their demands. The Pradesh Congress (PCC) President Bhakta Charan Das deserves all credit for holding such a spectacular rally addressed, among others, by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Malikarjun Kharge.

'Jana Nayak' Rahul

Most television channels of the state – none of them aligned to the Congress – along with posts on social media, projected Gandhi as “Jan Nayak” (people’s leader). Thumbnails and hashtags “Jana Nayak Rahul” on social media platforms baffled even those who are counted as Congress supporters and sympathisers, because for the first time Gandhi has been hailed by using that title.

The surging crowd in the rally when no election or electoral exercise was being scheduled in Odisha in the near future indicated how Gandhi has endeared himself to the people of Odisha by his persistent nationwide campaign to save the Constitution from the onslaught of Modi regime.

Flashing a red coloured book of the Constitution of India, and combining it with his expose of what he calls "Adani controlled BJP regimes at the Centre and States", Rahul underlined the Congress's commitment to ensure that a caste census is conducted for securing social justice for the underprivileged sections of society who are suffering deprivation and exclusion on account of their ascribed caste identities.

In defence of tribals

Gandhi’s charges that tribals of Odisha are deprived of their jal (water), jungle, zameen (land) because the BJP Government of the State is handing over their lands, rich with mineral resources, to Adani by twisting administrative measures favouring corporates gained huge traction. He also accused the earlier Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Government of Naveen Patnaik of doing same thing what BJP Government is doing now.

Gandhi alleged that tribals in several parts of the state are being prevented by police to conduct Gram Sabhas as mandated by the Forest Rights Act to know their opinion if they would allow mining activities for extracting minerals from those areas inhabited by tribals for ages.

What Gandhi said in defence of tribals is evocative of then President of India K.R. Narayanan’s remarks in his address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day on January 25, 2001.

“We have laws,” he had said, “that are enlightened and which prohibit the transfer of the tribal lands to non-tribals, private bodies and corporations”. “The Supreme Court has upheld these provisions through its judgments,” President Narayanan affirmed with emphasis.

Stating that social commitments enshrined in our Constitution could not be ignored, he remarked with anguish, “In eastern India(Odisha), the exploitation of minerals like bauxite and iron ore are causing destruction of forests and sources of water”.

Flagging the point that “…. the nation must benefit from the exploitation of these mineral resources, we will have also to take into consideration questions of environmental protection and the rights of tribals”.

With great deal of sensitivity he then tried to arouse the conscience of the nation by saying, “Let it not be said by future generations that the Indian Republic has been built on the destruction of the green earth and the innocent tribals who have been living there for centuries”.

Gandhi's statement in defence of tribals resonated with what President Narayanan had said twenty four years back.

Adani and Rath yatra

Gandhi accused that the BJP Government halted Lord Jagannath’s chariot on the day of famous Rath Yatra held in Puri on 27^th June and it was pulled the next day after business tycoon Gautam Adani and his family arrived in Puri to participate in the yatra. It deepened the already prevalent public perception that the BJP Government of the State was not allowed to move Lord Jagannath’s chariot because of Adani.

Gandhi is the first national leader to have hurled such grave charges which even no BJD leader including Patnaik, the party's President and incumbent Leader of Opposition in the Odisha assembly dared to do.

What Gandhi said reverberated across the state and people admired his courage in exposing the BJP government of the state which committed the unforgiveable offence of negating the exalted divine status of the Jagannath deity by taking into account temporal and commercial considerations.

Rising atrocities in Odisha

Additionally, Gandhi also raised the burning issues of rising crimes against women, recurring atrocities on Dalits and violence against minorities in Odisha. Ironically, just a day after Gandhi spoke about these issues, a 20-year-old girl student of Fakir Mohan College located in Balasore in Odisha set herself ablaze and suffered 90 per cent burn injuries after her repeated complaints against her male teacher for sexual harassment were not acted upon by authorities including Chief Minister’s Office and Union Education Minister. It has shaken the people of the State and shocked them beyond measure.

Ideological struggle and resurgence of Congress

Massive coverage of the rally and Rahul’s speech in TV channels, social media and Odia newspapers unmistakably indicated the remarkable resurgence of Congress party after PCC President Bhakta Charan Das was given the responsibilities slightly over six months back to lead the Sate unit. It showed how Congress is being activated and revitalised with renewed confidence when for the last twenty years it rapidly lost its electoral base and got reduced to a pathetic third position in 2024 elections, after BJP and BJD, with hardly 14 per cent vote share, 13 MLAs in the State Assembly and one MP in Lok Sabha.

Kedar Mishra who runs an Odia YouTube channel, “Samata Live” stated in a video coverage of that rally that Gandhi's speech reaffirmed his continued ideological struggle against BJP and RSS and urged Congress workers to be mindful of the fact that the mandate of people cannot be secured except through intensification of that ideological struggle.

Ten such rallies in next one year

PCC president Das fructified what he told this author of the article, four months back, that he would organise a big Congress rally in Bhubaneswar and invite top party leaders including Rahul Gandhi. In his speech in that rally he revealed that 10 such mega rallies would be organised by him in Odisha during the next one year.

Gandhi was so impressed with the rally that he was wondering why Das’s predecessors failed to do so during the last twenty years. The enormous success of the standalone Bhubaneswar rally when no election is round the corner has energised the rank and file of the Congress party which people are increasingly perceiving as the main opposition entity because BJD with 51 MLAs and Patnaik as the leader of opposition, is not doing as much as is being expected in taking on the BJP Government of the state.

The Congress rally has generated cautious optimism and it augurs well for the Congress party and Das is brimming with confidence to sustain and augment the momentum.

S N Sahu served as Officer on Special Duty to President of India K.R. Narayanan.

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