Rahul Gandhi to address rally in Dehradun as part of 50th anniversary of Bangladesh War
The Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 (BLW-71) celebrations, which were delayed due to Covid-19, started in mid-July with a district level meeting at Panchkula, Haryana
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be addressing a rally in Dehradun next week as part of the conclusion of the year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971.
"Former Congress President, Shri Rahul Gandhi will be addressing a huge rally in Dehradun (Uttarakhand) on December 16 that will include a large number of 1971 War Veterans and other military veterans," said Congress General Secretary K.C Venugopal in a statement on Friday.
The year-long celebration will formally conclude with a ceremony in New Delhi on December 15 where Congress President Sonia Gandhi will be the Chief Guest.
The General Secretary said that programmes like honouring War Veterans and War Widows and commemorating the Bangladesh Liberation War-1971 shall be conducted in a befitting manner at the district level across the country on December 16.
The Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 (BLW-71) celebrations, which were delayed due to Covid-19, started in mid-July with a district level meeting at Panchkula, Haryana.
"Till date, the Indian National Congress has organised over 100 district level meetings throughout the country. The state level functions commenced on November 16 with a meeting in Kohima (Nagaland) followed by other states and are continuing. Maximum District meetings have been held in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu," he added.
Venugopal said though the formal concluding ceremony will be held on December 15, several states, which have not concluded their state-level functions, have been asked to continue up to December 31 and conclude the celebration programmes with honouring of martyr families and also war veterans. The programmes shall also continue at the District/Block levels in some of the "Soldier States" like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan beyond the end of this year.
"In all the meetings held so far, a large number of military veterans have enthusiastically participated and have been honoured," he said.
He added that the programmes have left an everlasting impression on the youth of the country making them aware of the saga of the Bangladesh Liberation War under the "visionary and courageous" leadership of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the "decisive" military victory planned and executed under an "outstanding" military leadership of Field Marshal (then General) Sam Manekshaw.