New Delhi [India], September 23 : Congress MP KC Venugopal is gearing up for a crucial meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in Patna, Bihar, where several key issues are on the agenda, ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls.
The meeting takes place amid a nationwide agitation against alleged vote tampering, with a signature campaign underway across the country. The upcoming Bihar elections are expected to be a major topic of discussion, given the state's political significance.
"We are doing the CWC meeting in Patna, the meeting is not related to elections... we are doing this very frequently. There are many issues to be discussed... there's a national agitation against vote theft. A signature campaign is also underway across the country... therefore we have to also discuss this apart from many other political issues. Of course, the Bihar elections will be a topic of discussions..." Venugopal told ANI.
The party will hold the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at Sadaqat Ashram, their state party headquarters in Patna. Multiple leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, state party president Rajesh Ram, party's Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, state's Legislative Party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan, among others, are likely to attend the meeting.
The party's state in-charge, Krishna Allavaru, informed of the CWC meet in a press conference on Monday, while highlighting that the party is set to discuss multiple issues, including alleged 'vote chori' (vote theft) and others such as increasing crime, unemployment, and inflation, which are plaguing the state.
"Congress will definitely talk about Bihar in Bihar, but also will talk about the nation in the state. There are many issues to be addressed in Bihar, unemployment, inflation, increasing crime, crimes against women, also the ceasefire or surrender in front of Trump," he said,
Expressing concerns on the benefits of Goods and Service Tax (GST) reforms in the country, Venugopal said that the advantages available to the common people and poor Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were still unknown.
"...for the last eight years, the Congress, the entire opposition, has been fighting for changes in GST norms. Even now, people don't know how this will benefit the common people and poor MSMEs. Let's see what happens..." he stated.
The reform in the Goods and Services Tax structure, which was approved during the 56th meeting of the GST Council earlier this month, came into effect on Monday.
The current four-rate system has been replaced with a streamlined two-slab regime of 5% and 18%. A separate 40 per cent slab has been retained for luxury and sin goods.
This new framework is expected to ease compliance, reduce consumer prices, boost manufacturing, and support a wide range of industries, from agriculture to automobiles and from FMCG to renewable energy. It is intended to lower the cost of living, strengthen MSMEs, widen the tax base, and drive inclusive growth.