The Congress parliamentary strategy group identified several priorities for the upcoming monsoon session, including alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and what it described as the gradual weakening of educational institutions. The party also decided to oppose any effort by the central government to bring back the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which seeks to expand the Lok Sabha and begin the delimitation process.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting an all-party meeting before any updated version of the Bill is tabled. He asked for sufficient time to review the proposals in detail.
In a social media post following the meeting, Mr. Kharge stated that the party would question the government on the alleged donation theft at the Ram Temple, paper leaks, the weakening of the education system, institutional interference, the fragmentation of political parties, corruption, rising prices, foreign policy shortcomings, ethanol blending, deforestation, and alleged violations of rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and minorities.
The strategy session, led by Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, included Mr. Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, K.C. Venugopal, P. Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh, Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Kumari Selja, Gaurav Gogoi, and Manickam Tagore.
At a press conference, Jairam Ramesh claimed the government was trying to revive the delimitation Bill after failing to obtain the necessary two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha in April. He said the party would continue to resist the Bill and work to keep opposition parties united. The Congress would also oppose a proposed constitutional amendment on removing ministers after 30 days in custody, the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, changes to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, and amendments to the National Food Security Act.
Mr. Ramesh accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of dividing parties to achieve a two-thirds majority through questionable means, calling it an affront to the Constitution and democracy. Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Kharge have been coordinating with parties that backed the Congress in April to defeat the Bill.
The INDIA bloc is scheduled to hold its own strategy meeting on July 20, 2026, before the monsoon session begins.
