Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], March 18 (ANI): Praising the efforts of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to 'strengthen the Congress and the INDIA alliance,' former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and party leader Harish Rawat backed the former's remarks of certain Congress members being 'hand in glove with the BJP.'

The remarks by Gandhi were made while addressing party workers in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on March 9, where he called for multiple Congress leaders and workers being removed who are in support of BJP while still being within the party's fold.

'Rahul Gandhi is our leader and he is taking steps to strengthen the Congress and the alliance. He wants the party to stay strong against every opportunity. His steps should be welcomed...People (who are in Congress working for the BJP) must be identified... such people are not needed in the party,' Rawat told ANI.

He further told ANI that the party needs to be a strong Opposition too in the Parliament, so they can remove the BJP from power in 2029.

Speaking about the Gujarat convention which is set to take place from April 8, Rawat alleged that there have been multiple attempts to remove the principles of Mahatma Gandhi from the state.

'We will challenge the government from Sabarmati Ashram on Congress' 100th anniversary to retain these principles,' Rawat added.

The Congress party was founded on December 28, 1885, marking 2025 as the party's 100 year anniversary.

Earlier on March 9, while visiting the party office in Gujarat, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that there were certain people who were loyal to the BJP despite being in the party, and called for the purging of such members.

'If we want to build a relationship (with people), then we have to do two things, the first task is to separate these two groups (loyalists and BJP supporters), strict action has to be taken. Even if we have to remove ten, fifteen, even twenty or thirty people, then we should remove them,' Gandhi said while addressing the workers in Ahmedabad.

Criticising the people who might be working for the BJP, Gandhi continued 'You are working for the BJP from the inside, go out and see how you work from the outside, you don't have a place here.' (ANI)