File photo: Congress President Sonia Gandhi
At a meeting called to brainstorm over how to revive the fortunes of the Congress, party president Sonia Gandhi set the tone by attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Modi has chosen to ignore provocative statements by the members of his government. This is a continuation of the strategy of polarisation... The true colours of the Modi government are now coming out," the party's Twitter handle quoted her as saying at the Congress Working Committee meeting held in Delhi today.
Mrs Gandhi's statement at the meeting - meant to discuss the party's plan of action - comes in the wake of a controversy over comments made by several BJP lawmakers and is expected to help push the ruling party on the backfoot.
Mrs Gandhi also criticised the Narendra Modi government for pushing several key laws through Ordinances, senior Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi told the media after the meeting.
The Congress will focus on taking on the government over the land ordinance. The issue has become a rallying point for the opposition and the Congress hopes to use it win agitated farmers over to its side.
Accusing the government of "bypassing debates" in Parliament, Mrs Gandhi said democratic institutions were being "undermined", with "one ordinance coming every 28 days from the BJP government".
The party chief's remarks will form the core of the Congress' offensive against the BJP, which has dealt it crippling blows first in the national elections last May and then in several state elections.
"We have to communicate effectively that the Modi government is not serving the nation in the correct spirit bypassing Parliament," Mrs Gandhi told her party leaders.
Intervening in the meeting, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said it was necessary to ensure that the internal processes and systems of the party were robust and there was organisational transparency.