Congress-backed think tank’s event in Hyderabad raises questions

The Samruddha Bharat Foundation is said to have been launched as a counter to the Vivekananda International Foundation, a public policy think tank said to be closely associated with BJP

Hyderabad: As the State government prepares to host what it calls ‘Bharat Summit 2025’ here from April 25, questions are being raised over Samruddha Bharat Foundation (SBF), an out and out Congress party-floated think tank, which is collaborating with the government to organise the event.

According to media reports, the foundation was inaugurated in Bengaluru by Rahul Gandhi in May 2018, and also had organised the Rashtriya Samvidhan Sammelan last year in Lucknow. Though the organisation claims to be non-political, its leanings are clear from the who’s who of the outfit. The SBF has former Rajya Sabha TV CEO Gurdeep Singh Sappal as its executive trustee. Sappal was officer on special duty to former Vice-President Hamid Ansari and more importantly, is a CWC permanent invitee. Congress leader Salman Khurshid is one of the advisors.

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According to reports, the foundation is said to have been launched as a Congress counter to the Vivekananda International Foundation, a public policy think tank said to be closely associated with the BJP. Much of its events, reports say, had the larger message of the BJP’s ‘Hindu Rashtra’ versus the Congress slogan of ‘Samriddh Bharat’. Though it refuses to openly admit its support to the Congress, all its events have had Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and IT Minister D Sridhar Babu recently made an official announcement, stating that the summit was being organised in collaboration with Samruddha Bharat Foundation to mark the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference that laid the foundation for the Non-Aligned Movement. The theme of the summit, ‘Delivering Global Justice’, echoes the call for NYAY (justice) championed by Rahul Gandhi, they said.

The Ministers also unveiled the logo for the event as CWC member Salman Khurshid, AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan and Indian Overseas Congress chairperson Sam Pitroda joined the event via video conference.

While that itself indicates that the event is an outright Congress party event, the question is why is the State government using funds from the State exchequer to host over “450 global delegates from more than 100 countries, including corporate heads, key ministers, policy-makers, academics, and civil society leaders, along with representatives from 25 international think tanks”, as claimed by the Ministers, for an event that is being pushed forth by an organisation known for its Congress connections.

Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi will attend the summit on both days, Bhatti had said, while Sridhar Babu claimed that the event would position Telangana as a modern-day meeting ground for global thinkers, reformers, and changemakers. He had also said there were plans to make the event an annual feature.