As the economy of the country continues to see a decline with GDP at 5 percent the Congress on Thursday announced it will hold massive agitations across the country from October 15 to October 25 against the government’s policies that have allegedly led to the economic slowdown.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in Delhi. The meeting was attended by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, AICC general secretaries and in-charges of various states and Congress Legislative Party leaders, among others.

It was decided at the meeting that Pradesh (state) Congress Committee delegate conventions will be held across the country from September 20 to 30 to highlight the “economic slowdown,” Congress spokesperson RPN Singh said at a press conference, in which party general secretary KC Venugopal was also present.

This will be followed by massive agitations across the country from October 15 to October 25 against the government over its policies that have led to the slowdown, Singh said. The Congress will also hold ‘padayatras’ (marches) from October 2 to October 9 to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, he said. The party’s membership drive will also start in October, Singh said.

People can enroll themselves as members of the Congress party through an app on their mobiles and only basic information will be required. However, for paper-based memberships, it will the responsibility of the DCC (District Congress Committee) and PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) to provide digital information of their members.

Leaders have been asked to go to booth-level to enroll new members, Singh said, adding training of Congressmen to make them aware about “false narratives created by the BJP” will be carried out.

The Congress leaders have been critical of the government policies which they believe have brought the “historic slowdown” of country’s economy. In her recent tweets, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called out the BJP government for rising unemployment and falling GDP growth.

GDP विकास दर से साफ है कि अच्छे दिन का भोंपू बजाने वाली भाजपा सरकार ने अर्थव्यवस्था की हालत पंचर कर दी है। 

न GDP ग्रोथ है न रुपए की मजबूती। रोजगार गायब हैं।

अब तो साफ करो कि अर्थव्यवस्था को नष्ट कर देने की ये किसकी करतूत है?#EconomicSlowdown#EconomyCrisis

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) August 31, 2019

Former prime minister and renowned economist Manmohan Singh laso warned the government of serious financial repercussions if it did not reach out to sane voices to curb ‘man-made crisis.’

Singh said “all-round mismanagement” by the Modi government was responsible for the slowdown. “The state of the economy today is deeply worrying. The last quarter’s GDP growth rate of 5 per cent signals that we are in the midst of a prolonged slowdown. India has the potential to grow at a much faster rate but all-round mismanagement by the Modi government has resulted in this slow down,” he said in a statement.