Nagpur, Dec 27 (IANS): Senior Congress leaders have started arriving in the Orange City for the mega-rally scheduled on Thursday to mark the grand old party’s 138th foundation day, party functionaries said here on Wednesday.

Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said that historically, whenever a crisis confronted the country, it was from Nagpur that the Congress launched its war against the problems.

Speaking to the media, he said the current situation facing the nation is no different with democracy and Constitution, and all four pillars of democracy under severe threats.

“It is the responsibility of the Congress to safeguard and preserve our democracy and its democratic institutions… We shall issue the message of change tomorrow and resolve to bring down the tyrannical and arrogant BJP government,” Patole said.

The Congress event shall be held at the ‘Bharat Jodo Maidan’ in the presence of party President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, top party office-bearers from all states, all state Chief Ministers, ministers, elected representatives and others.

Patole reminded how the Congress won India’s Independence with the sacrifices of thousands of freedom fighters that ultimately forced the British rulers to leave the country.

“The contributions of Maharashtra to the Independence movement is huge. In the 60 years of Congress rule, all top leaders and Prime Ministers, from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh, strived to make India a global power… Unfortunately, in the past 10 years of the BJP rule, the country has plummeted on all fronts,” said Patole.

He also accused the BJP of exploiting caste-religion issues and creating social-communal divides and disturbances that have led to a decline in the country’s image, even as other burning problems of inflation, unemployment, safety of women, farmers’ woes, education, health, etc. are ignored.

“At the same time, by misusing the central agencies like ED, CBI, I-T, the Opposition is being intimidated and their voice is smothered if they speak out against the government. But, just as the powerful British were forced to quit, even the dictatorial BJP will be packed off with Rahul Gandhi’s slogan of ‘Daro Mat’ (Fear Not) in the 2024 elections,” declared Patole.

Patole and other senior party leaders took a detailed review of the arrangements for the Congress rally, which they said could attract several lakhs of people from the state and elsewhere.