By IANS,
New Delhi : Congress president Sonia Gandhi Monday urged workers of the Seva Dal, the grassroots frontal organisation of the party, to reach out to the people through social work.
Addressing the national convention of Seva Dal workers here, Gandhi said they should work against the designs of communal and casteist forces. “People who resort to communalism, casteism, their plans should not be allowed to succeed,” she said.
Lauding the work of the Seva Dal, she said its members were working to popularise welfare initiatives of the party-led government.
Quoting Jawaharlal Nehru, who was the first president of Seva Dal, she said that smaller interests have to be given up for a bigger cause and success often comes to those who display courage.
She said the Congress had never compromised on its ideology and its leaders had laid strong secular foundations of the country. “We have always stood with the poor, tribals, minorities and women. We will always stand by them,” Gandhi said.
She hoped that Seva Dal workers would become a pillar of support for the “poor and weak”.
Seva Dal chief organiser Mahendra Joshi said the organisation was preparing a 15,000-strong “voluntary force (swayamsevak)” from 7,500 blocks across the country.
Union Minister Mukul Wasnik, who is incharge of Seva Dal, said the workers had provided succour to people affected by natural calamities in different parts of the country.
Seva Dal was founded in 1923.