Venkateshwarlu Kolishetty Hyderabad

DeputyChief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad would gradually emerge as a major global platform for discussions on political, social and economic development, similar to how the Davos Summit has become synonymous with business and economic affairs.

Addressing a press conference at HICC on Wednesday, along with IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, Congress Working Committee member Gurdeep Singh Sabbal, TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud and MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, he said the second edition of the Bharat Summit would be held on November 13 and 14 under the leadership of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.

More than 1,000 delegates, including elected representatives, policymakers and intellectuals from over 70 countries, have confirmed their participation.

Bhatti Vikramarka said the summit would highlight Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, Jawaharlal Nehru's policy of non-alignment and India's mixed economic model as guiding principles for addressing global challenges. He recalled that Nehru's non-alignment policy had earned international respect and helped India maintain its independent identity while promoting progressive development.

Emphasising democratic values, he said viewing opposition parties as enemies was contrary to the spirit of democracy. Ruling parties and opposition parties were two essential pillars of democracy, and respecting diverse opinions was vital for its survival. Attempts by governments in some countries to eliminate opposition parties and their leaders were detrimental to democratic institutions, he observed.

On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Deputy Chief Minister said protecting every citizen's right to vote was a fundamental democratic responsibility.

The Congress strongly opposed attempts to remove eligible voters under the pretext of SIR, he said.

He added that the Congress, from Rahul Gandhi to grassroots-level workers, was fighting not merely for its party members but for every citizen whose voting rights could be threatened.