Hours following its launch on Monday, the Congress' crowdfunding initiative, 'Donate for Desh,' encountered a technical obstacle. In the midst of the Congress unveiling its crowdfunding campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party already secured a domain name associated with the initiative. Consequently, supporters who visit the link 'donatefordesh.org' are redirected to a page on the BJP's website, facilitating donations to the party.
Additionally, the right wing website OpIndia also secured a domain name mentioning the Congress campaign, causing the redirection of 'donatefordesh.com' to its own donation page. Subsequently, the Congress settled on the link 'donateinc.in' for its crowdfunding initiative.
Responding to the situation, Supriya Shrinate, a Congress party leader and the head of the party's social media and digital platforms, accused the BJP of “copying” their initiative and “creating fake domains to confuse people”. In light of this, the Congress has instructed its supporters to visit their official campaign domain, donateinc.net, to avoid any confusion.
Social Media Users Critique Congress' Planning Misstep
A domain name is like an internet street address. In order to book a domain, one must choose a domain registrar like GoDaddy or Namecheap and check the availability of desired domain. This is followed by purchasing the domain, paying a yearly fee, and linking the domain to one's website. In the case mentioned, BJP and OpIndia secured the domain first and linked their donation pages to it.
As the confusion prevailed, social media users took to X, dissing Congress's inability to secure a domain name indicated a lack of effective planning.
What is Congress's 'Donate for Desh' campaign?
The Congress party has launched the 'Donate for Desh' crowdfunding campaign to mark its 138th anniversary. Available on the Congress website, the payment link encourages contributors to donate in increments of Rs 138, Rs 1,380, or Rs 13,800. Donors also have the option to contribute a custom amount of their choise.
Launching the campaign, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “If you just keep collecting money from the rich, then one will have to make policies and programmes according to their wishes. Our party has always been with the underprivileged, Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs, minorities and upper castes. We want to help them.”
The effort aims to construct the nation with the support of common people, he said. The Congress leader emphasised that the 'Donate for Desh' drive signifies a dedication to safeguarding the rights of marginalised communities, addressing disparities, and serving as a robust opposition to an authoritarian government that favours a privileged few.
He highlighted that this undertaking draws inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi's 'Tilak Swaraj Fund' of 1920-21.