By: Express News ServicePune | December 8, 2025 09:20 PM IST 2 min readCongress leader Balasaheb Thorat said that between 2004 and 2014, the Congress government implemented several welfare schemes. (File photo)Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said that the citizens should step forward to save the fundamental structure of the democracy as the BJP strategy has been of religious polarisation and vote theft.On the occasion of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s birthday, Thorat inaugurated a special exhibition titled “Murder of Democracy and Vote Theft”. The event was held at Balgandharva Rangmandir under the ‘Service, Duty, Sacrifice’ week. Maharashtra Youth Congress President Shivraj More was present as the chief guest.Event coordinator and senior Vice President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee Mohan Joshi, former Minister of State for Home Affairs Ramesh Bagwe, NCP city president Prashant Jagtap, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) city chief Sanjay More were also present.Thorat said that between 2004 and 2014, the Congress government implemented several welfare schemes such as the Food Security Act, educational schemes, amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, and globally appreciated initiatives like the polio eradication campaign.“However, after 2014, the BJP misused technology, rumours, and caste-based polarisation to seize power and derail the country’s direction. Maharashtra has always upheld the tradition of saints, yet today religion is openly used for politics.Joshi said that credit for Pune’s holistic development goes to the Congress, which has implemented more than 25 major projects for the city. The purpose of the ‘Service, Duty, Sacrifice’ week is to highlight public awareness, social responsibility, and the importance of democracy.Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd