Politics is not everyone’s cup of tea, but democracy is everyone’s right: Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry

Rashi Bhattacharyya
Madhusudan Mistry in Pune on Thursday. (Express Photo)

Senior Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry on Thursday addressed the members of civil society in Pune. A conference was organised by Matdar Jagruti Parishad at Gandhi Bhavan, which was attended by members of various NGOs, social activists and people from various sections of the society.

Praising the event, Mistry, who is also the general secretary of All India Congress Committee, called the interaction an "extension to the new constructive and positive mission started by Rahul Gandhi (Congress president)". He said: "Somewhere in our journey, our interaction with civil society decreased. We are reviving our old tradition and are trying to interact with as many people we can."

A similar conference was organised in Delhi by the Congress top brass on March 21.

Mistry emphasised on the importance of civil society in the betterment of the society. "Politics is not everyone's cup of tea, but democracy is everyone's right. To ensure a well-functioning state apparatus, there should be connection between various members of the civil society and political parties. We are not trying to get them to pledge their alliance to us. We just want to ensure a healthy conversation," said Mistry.

He added that rarely there are members of the civil society who address grievances related to defence, finance, etc. "Civil societies focus on issues related to law, social welfare and all. Through these interactions, we are trying to make them part of a bigger conversation. Not everyone can be a politician but they should have a say in issues that matter," Mistry said.

During the interactions, members from various organisations spoke about the "dissatisfaction amongst the people from the current government" and questioned Mistry about the party's plan to deal with it if they are elected. "…We have noticed the dissatisfaction regarding communal tensions, corruption by the government. Religious conflicts are something which Congress has never tolerated and we plan to continue that. Our manifesto this time addresses all these misgivings and we plan to work towards those," said Mistry.

Prashant Kothadiya, a member of the Matdar Jagruti Parishad, thanked the Congress leader for accepting the invitation. Founder of Yuvak Kranti Dal and Matdaar Jagruti Parishad, Kumar Saptarshi, praised the Congress for their attempt to connect with the civil society. The meeting was also attended by AICC Maharashtra Secretary Sonal Patel