The party says Rahul Gandhi’s speech at UC Berkeley generated a lot of interest and many professionals want to associate with the Congress
Buoyed by the response to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s speech at UC Berkeley — which is considered a stepping stone to Silicon Valley — the party is planning a similar session in India’s IT hub Bengaluru after Diwali.
Rahul is currently touring the US where he will visit Princeton University on 19 September. The next day, he will address members of the Indian National Overseas Congress in New York.
Shashi Tharoor, chairman of the newly-floated Indian National Professional Congress, is accompanying Rahul on the US tour.
The Bengaluru event has been planned and conceptualised by Tharoor and his team. New chapters of the Professional Congress are being set up in all major cities as well. A professional can become a member of this wing by paying Rs 1,000.
“To date, around 1,000 people from different parts of the country have paid the amount to become fellows. We have no accurate data currently on the number of supporters who have shown interest in joining the Professional Congress,” said a Congress leader associated with this wing.
Also read: What stood out in Rahul Gandhi’s speech in UC Berkeley
The Professional Congress will set up its chapters across India. Once this whole process ends, it plans to organise a gathering of all the fellows in October, which will be addressed by the Congress vice-president.
“Meetings are taking place in different regions. The Bengaluru event will be held either in October-end or early November,” the Congress leader added.
The party claims that Rahul’s speech at UC Berkeley generated lot of interest and a number of professionals abroad want to associate with the Congress.
Bengaluru has been chosen as the venue for the event for two reasons. First, there is a Congress government in Karnataka and secondly, Bengaluru is the tech hub of the country.
“It’s a mini India where IT professionals from different parts of the country come to work in big companies as well as start-ups. If everything goes according to our plan, the event would help us gain some traction in the IT segment, which is to some extent, remains tilted towards the BJP,” said a Congress leader.