Raipur: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State General Secretary Sanjay Srivastava on Thursday accused the Congress of distancing itself from the public and avoiding seeking their input for its manifesto ahead of the urban body elections.

Speaking at a press briefing at the BJP office in Ekatma Parisar, Srivastava said that during the 2018 elections, Congress had actively promoted its initiative to gather public suggestions for its manifesto, with T.S. Baba leading the effort across various regions.

However, this time, Congress has completely ignored public consultation, he alleged. “Congress and its state president Deepak Baij are scared of facing the people,” Srivastava claimed. “According to reports, the Congress manifesto has already been prepared, but it lacks the voice, demands, and aspirations of the people.

How will Congress face the public after failing them over the last five years? This is why they are avoiding public interaction altogether.” He further accused Congress of being focused only on "corruption and misgovernance."

Questioning the party’s approach, Srivastava asked why Congress refrained from seeking public suggestions and why Deepak Baij appeared reluctant to engage with citizens. Highlighting the BJP's approach, Srivastava emphasized that his party had prepared its manifesto in 2023 based on public suggestions and successfully implemented it within a year.

He added that BJP is once again reaching out to the public for their inputs. The party has introduced a WhatsApp number (9111014400), QR code scanning, and an email address (morsujhav@bjpcg.com) to gather suggestions.

The press briefing also witnessed the presence of Scheduled Tribe Morcha President Vikas Markam, State Media In-Charge Amit Chimnani, and Co-In-Charge Anurag Agrawal.