Delhi, 8 January- 24 Akbar Road, a white bungalow in the center of Lutyens’ Delhi that quietly witnessed many of the historic and momentous events in the Congress history, is a location that is synonymous with the Congress party for many of its leaders and employees.
The building has witnessed the party’s political and electoral ups and downs over nearly 50 years, including Indira Gandhi’s victorious return to power in 1980, her assassination and Rajiv Gandhi’s rise to power as Prime Minister in 1984, the Congress’s defeat five years later, the P V Narasimha Rao years, the party’s period in political wilderness from 1996 to 2004, its return to prominence under Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, and its collapse in 2014.
According to the Indian Express, from January 15, the Congress national headquarters will have a new name and a new address: Indira Gandhi Bhawan on 9 A, Kotla Road. In the making for one-and-a-half decades, the new headquarters of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) is ready and will be inaugurated a day after Makar Sankranti. Though the land allotted for the building is on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, the party decided to keep the entrance to its six-storey headquarters on Kotla Road to have it on the address instead of DDU Marg.
Congress headquarters at 24 Akbar Road, Delhi
Back in December 2009, Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress, and Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, laid the foundation stone for the new structure. However, it took the party fifteen years to finish building the structure. Gandhi, who is currently the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, will officially inaugurate the structure alongside Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the AICC.
Named the “Indira Gandhi Bhawan”, 400 top leaders of the party from across India are expected to attend the event, including members of the Congress Working Committee, Permanent and Special Invitees, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, Congress Legislature Party leaders, MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, former Chief Ministers, ex-PCC Presidents, and former CLP Leaders and Union Ministers.
1978 was a tumultuous year in Congress history, and Indira led the Congress when they moved into 24, Akbar Road. The Congress was out of power for the first time since Independence when Indira lost the Lok Sabha elections following Emergency. The Congress had also split and the Indira group lacked an office.
“It is time for us to move ahead with the times and embrace the new,” AICC general secretary (organization) K C Venugopal said on Tuesday, announcing the inauguration of the new headquarters.
“Situated at 9 A, Kotla Road, New Delhi, the Indira Gandhi Bhawan is designed to meet the evolving needs of the party and its leaders, featuring modern facilities to support administrative, organizational, and strategic activities. This iconic building reflects the Congress party’s forward-looking vision while paying homage to its extraordinary past, which has shaped the political and social fabric of India,” he said.
A senior Congress leader said the party would not give up the Akbar Road bungalow and that “it will be kept for high-profile meetings”. Offices of all party leaders and office-bearers, including that of the party president, will shift to the new building.
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