'Vote chori', Trump's tariffs to figure in CWC meeting in Patna: Bihar Cong chief

Patna, Sep 23 (PTI) Bihar Congress president Rajesh Kumar on Tuesday said that state, national and international-level issues, including 'vote theft' and imposition of tariffs by the Donald Trump administration of the US, were likely to be discussed at the CWC meeting scheduled in Patna on Wednesday.

He spoke to journalists at the airport here ahead of the arrival of top party leaders, including All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretaries Deepa Das Munshi and Sayeed Nasir Hussain, and former Lok Sabha speaker Meria Kumar.

The Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president bristled at the BJP-led NDA's charge that the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting "has always been held in Delhi, but now scheduled in the Bihar capital as a tactic ahead of upcoming assembly polls in the state".

He said, "If we look at the history of CWC meetings in the post-Independence era, these have been held at many places. In the recent past, a CWC meeting was held in Gujarat. Tomorrow's meeting is an extended CWC meet which implies that it will also be attended by state unit chiefs and other senior leaders who have been invited." "At CWC meetings, we pass resolutions after holding deliberations on issues of state, national and international levels. Tomorrow, we will be doing the same. The topics of discussion would include 'vote chori' and hefty tariffs imposed on India by Trump," the Bihar Congress president added.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain mocked the opposition party for holding the meeting in Patna.

"Earlier, CWC meetings took place in Delhi where the Congress has been scoring a zero in elections. It will meet the same fate in the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar," he said.

Earlier, Union minister Chirag Paswan had alleged that the Congress was indulging in "pressure tactics ahead of assembly polls in Bihar".

However, senior RJD leader and Lok Sabha MP from Buxar, Sudhakar Singh, dismissed the allegations of opposition leaders and said, "The CWC meeting in Patna will send across a positive message that will benefit not just the Congress, but the entire INDIA bloc." PTI NAC PKD ACD