Barack Obama
Credit: Reuters Photo
Bengaluru: The ruling Congress is planning to invite former US president Barack Obama to an event scheduled in December to mark the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi presiding over the party's 'historic' session at Belagavi.
Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said the centenary event will be held on December 24, 25 and 26 at Belagavi, the same dates on which Gandhi presided over the Congress' session 100 years ago. This was the only Congress session that Gandhi presided over.
"Barack Obama hailed Gandhi as not only India's leader, but a leader of the world," Patil said at the Congress' 'Gandhi Bharata' event on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
"We want to bring Barack Obama to Belagavi around December 24, 25 and 26 so that he can address a big event. This is our opinion (to invite Obama) and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has directed us on this and our party president (DK Shivakumar) wants us to try," Patil said.
Patil said there are people who detest Gandhi. "We have some minds who speak lightly about Gandhi. Some of them shoot at Gandhi's portraits. This includes our Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said people didn't know about Gandhi," he said. "I want to tell Modi, your notion is wrong, mad and baseless," he said, adding that Gandhi's thoughts must be made known beyond the state and the country.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar noted that an order had been issued that the government would conduct the Belagavi programme intended to commemorate the 1924 Belagavi session of the Congress that Gandhi chaired.
Shivakumar, the Karnataka Congress president, recollected that party leaders had gone to Belagavi, drawn water from the ‘Gandhi Well' there and sprinkled it on the streets before announcing the five flagship guarantees.