President of the Congress Sonia Gandhi | Photo credit: PTI
Key points
- Congress forms three new committees to discuss economic affairs, foreign affairs, and national security policy.
- Four congressional “ dissidents, ” including Shashi Tharoor and Anand Sharma, received a spot on new panels in a bid to avoid further embarrassment.
New Delhi: On Friday, the Congress party formed three committees to “consider and discuss issues and policies related to Economic Affairs, Foreign Relations and National Security. Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has been appointed a member of the three panels.”
The event comes days after the party leader Kapil Sibal’s statements about the decline of Congress triggered another episode of infighting in Congress. Sibal recently said in an interview that the country’s people in Bihar and where the by-votes took place do not consider Congress to be “an effective alternative.”
Sibal, who is among 23 leaders who wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi demanding radical changes in the party, also said that the reluctance to address the issues was due to the Congressional Working Committee being “a nominee body.”
The economic affairs committee includes former finance minister P Chidambaram. The second (foreign affairs) committee has both Anand Sharma and Shashi Tharoor, and Ghulam Nabi Azad and Veerappa Moily have been appointed to the third.
Chidambaram had also expressed concern about the deterioration of the party’s situation at ground level, pointing to its weak organizational structure. He had also pointed out that the party should have won only winning seats in Bihar, albeit in smaller numbers.
Loyalists against reformers in Congress?
Once again, the smell of dissent is in the air in the Congress party after having underperformed in the Bihar Assembly elections, also called the ‘weak link’ in Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) by many. However, the loyalists have now come to the defense of the higher ups, even as dissidents claimed they are fighting for the revival of Congress.
Meanwhile, Congress has issued a show of cause notice to former MP Furqan Ansari for speaking out against Rahul Gandhi. Ansari had reportedly suggested that the former party chief should have a political person with him rather than be surrounded by non-political people.
“Rahul should have a political advisor instead of MBA graduates,” he had said. Ansari’s son, Irfan Ansari, is a member of the justice in Jharkhand. On the other hand, two top leaders in Congress have criticized Sibal for speaking out against the party.
Senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Harish Rawat have attacked the former union minister for finding fault with the party’s leadership, saying that Sibal should have motivated party workers. Kharge also said that those people are weakening the party.
