News Analysis India

Tag: CWC

  • At presser, Rahul seeks show of hands on Dalit, OBC journalists present to highlight deprivation of weaker sections 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday asked for a show of hands from journalists at a press conference to know how many of them were Dalits and OBCs to make a point that people from weaker sections were not getting their share in the country’s assets and institutions.

    Addressing the press conference after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Gandhi said the party’s working committee has taken a “historic decision” unanimously to support the idea of a nationwide caste census, asserting that it is a “powerful step” for the emancipation of the poor.

    In response to a question, Gandhi said the Congress is asking what is the share of Dalits, tribals and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the country’s assets and institutions.

    “I will ask you how many Dalits are there in this room, look at this, how many OBCs are there in the room, raise their hands and see…there’s a cameraman, I am not talking about you, I am talking about you (gesturing towards journalists),” the former Congress chief said.

    “This is the question, how many Dalits, tribals and OBCs are there in institutions, what is their wealth, share in assets and their population,” he said.

    He also slammed the BJP’s criticism of the Congress over its caste census demand and said, “We are asking how many poor people are there in the country. So this (BJP criticism) is just about distraction.”

    Flanked by the party’s chief ministers in four states, Gandhi also said the decision of the CWC to support a caste census is a “very progressive” and “powerful” step for the emancipation of poor people.

    Talking about the idea of caste census, the former Congress chief said this ‘X-ray’ is needed for a new paradigm and development in the country.

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday asked for a show of hands from journalists at a press conference to know how many of them were Dalits and OBCs to make a point that people from weaker sections were not getting their share in the country’s assets and institutions.

    Addressing the press conference after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Gandhi said the party’s working committee has taken a “historic decision” unanimously to support the idea of a nationwide caste census, asserting that it is a “powerful step” for the emancipation of the poor.

    In response to a question, Gandhi said the Congress is asking what is the share of Dalits, tribals and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the country’s assets and institutions.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “I will ask you how many Dalits are there in this room, look at this, how many OBCs are there in the room, raise their hands and see…there’s a cameraman, I am not talking about you, I am talking about you (gesturing towards journalists),” the former Congress chief said.

    “This is the question, how many Dalits, tribals and OBCs are there in institutions, what is their wealth, share in assets and their population,” he said.

    He also slammed the BJP’s criticism of the Congress over its caste census demand and said, “We are asking how many poor people are there in the country. So this (BJP criticism) is just about distraction.”

    Flanked by the party’s chief ministers in four states, Gandhi also said the decision of the CWC to support a caste census is a “very progressive” and “powerful” step for the emancipation of poor people.

    Talking about the idea of caste census, the former Congress chief said this ‘X-ray’ is needed for a new paradigm and development in the country.

  • Caste census is our highest priority: Sonia Gandhi at CWC meet 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Monday said she was “100 per cent” in support of a nationwide caste census and asserted that this was the party’s “highest priority” which it should get done, sources said.

    Gandhi made the remarks during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held at the party headquarters here.

    “I am 100 per cent with the caste census, we must get it done. This is our highest priority,” a source quoted Gandhi as saying in her only intervention during the meeting.

    In a resolution passed by the CWC, the party said the Congress promises that a government led by it will conduct a nationwide caste sensus as part of the normal decadal census which was due in 2021, but postponed.

    The party also promised to implement the 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest, ensuring adequate representation for women belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and including Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in it as well.

    “The unnecessary obstacles of census and delimitation imposed by the Modi government (on the implementation of the women’s reservation bill) will be removed,” the resolution read.

    The party also called for removing through a legislation the cap of 50 per cent on the reservation for OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in line with their proportion in the population.

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Monday said she was “100 per cent” in support of a nationwide caste census and asserted that this was the party’s “highest priority” which it should get done, sources said.

    Gandhi made the remarks during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held at the party headquarters here.

    “I am 100 per cent with the caste census, we must get it done. This is our highest priority,” a source quoted Gandhi as saying in her only intervention during the meeting.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    In a resolution passed by the CWC, the party said the Congress promises that a government led by it will conduct a nationwide caste sensus as part of the normal decadal census which was due in 2021, but postponed.

    The party also promised to implement the 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest, ensuring adequate representation for women belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and including Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in it as well.

    “The unnecessary obstacles of census and delimitation imposed by the Modi government (on the implementation of the women’s reservation bill) will be removed,” the resolution read.

    The party also called for removing through a legislation the cap of 50 per cent on the reservation for OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in line with their proportion in the population.

  • Power games | Bharat Jodo Yatra-2: Rahul plans Oct 2 launch from mahatma’s birthplace

    Express News Service

    Bharat Jodo Yatra-2Rahul plans Oct 2 launch from mahatma’s birthplace

    Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has decided to launch the second leg of his hugely successful Bharat Jodo Yatra. Sources said it will begin from Porbandar, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, this October 2. The Yatra will start from Gujarat and pass through at least four poll-bound states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram — before concluding at the holy Parshuram Kund in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh. So far, it is unclear if the Yatra will also touch Telangana, also scheduled for elections this December.

    A team of top Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, is finalising the route in consultation with Rahul Gandhi and leaders of the states the Yatra will pass through. Initially, the Yatra was to culminate at the Kamakhya Devi Temple at Guwahati. But since the Manipur turmoil has hit the entire northeast, the Yatra was extended to the region’s other states to express solidarity with the people. The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been one of the most successful mass contact programmes the Congress party has undertaken in decades.

    A part of the credit for the party’s success in the Karnataka assembly election has been given to the Yatra, which went through the southern state for twenty-one days, touching scores of villages, towns and cities. On the lines of the first leg of the Yatra that went on for five months, the Bharat Jodo-2 is likely to go on for four months and end with the Parshuram Kund Mela, known as the Kumbh of the Northeast, attended by thousands from across the country on Makar Sankranti in January.

    CWC reconstitutionCongress finds Udaipur Declaration tough to implement

    The Congress party’s Nav Sankalp (new resolve) declaration adopted at the Chintan Shivir in Udaipur on May 15, 2022, has become the biggest impediment to reconstituting the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body. The party said in its Udaipur Declaration, “It is in the organisation’s interest to limit the term of a position to five years so that new people get an opportunity. Not only this, taking into consideration the demographics of India, it is important to ensure that 50% of the office bearers in Congress Working Committee, Pradesh Congress Committees, District Congress Committees, Block Congress Committees and Mandal Congress Committees are below the age of 50.

    Each of these units must also reflect social reality. Just and fair representation of Dalits, adivasis, backward classes, minorities and women should be ensured. The principle of one-person-one-post should be followed.” According to sources, the party is finding it difficult to get suitable candidates under fifty for the CWC. Top party leaders have had many rounds of meetings on this subject, but the constitution of the CWC has been inordinately delayed.

    The Udaipur Declaration had mandated that “all the vacant positions at the Block, District, State and National level will be filled in the next 90 to 180 days…” It has been over eight months since Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as Congress president in October 2022 and five months since the AICC plenary at Raipur ratified his election and authorised him to nominate the CWC, but a decision is yet to be taken on the issue.

    Bharat Jodo Yatra-2
    Rahul plans Oct 2 launch from mahatma’s birthplace

    Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has decided to launch the second leg of his hugely successful Bharat Jodo Yatra. Sources said it will begin from Porbandar, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, this October 2. The Yatra will start from Gujarat and pass through at least four poll-bound states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram — before concluding at the holy Parshuram Kund in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh. So far, it is unclear if the Yatra will also touch Telangana, also scheduled for elections this December.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    A team of top Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, is finalising the route in consultation with Rahul Gandhi and leaders of the states the Yatra will pass through. Initially, the Yatra was to culminate at the Kamakhya Devi Temple at Guwahati. But since the Manipur turmoil has hit the entire northeast, the Yatra was extended to the region’s other states to express solidarity with the people. The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been one of the most successful mass contact programmes the Congress party has undertaken in decades.

    A part of the credit for the party’s success in the Karnataka assembly election has been given to the Yatra, which went through the southern state for twenty-one days, touching scores of villages, towns and cities. On the lines of the first leg of the Yatra that went on for five months, the Bharat Jodo-2 is likely to go on for four months and end with the Parshuram Kund Mela, known as the Kumbh of the Northeast, attended by thousands from across the country on Makar Sankranti in January.

    CWC reconstitution
    Congress finds Udaipur Declaration tough to implement

    The Congress party’s Nav Sankalp (new resolve) declaration adopted at the Chintan Shivir in Udaipur on May 15, 2022, has become the biggest impediment to reconstituting the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body. The party said in its Udaipur Declaration, “It is in the organisation’s interest to limit the term of a position to five years so that new people get an opportunity. Not only this, taking into consideration the demographics of India, it is important to ensure that 50% of the office bearers in Congress Working Committee, Pradesh Congress Committees, District Congress Committees, Block Congress Committees and Mandal Congress Committees are below the age of 50.

    Each of these units must also reflect social reality. Just and fair representation of Dalits, adivasis, backward classes, minorities and women should be ensured. The principle of one-person-one-post should be followed.” According to sources, the party is finding it difficult to get suitable candidates under fifty for the CWC. Top party leaders have had many rounds of meetings on this subject, but the constitution of the CWC has been inordinately delayed.

    The Udaipur Declaration had mandated that “all the vacant positions at the Block, District, State and National level will be filled in the next 90 to 180 days…” It has been over eight months since Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as Congress president in October 2022 and five months since the AICC plenary at Raipur ratified his election and authorised him to nominate the CWC, but a decision is yet to be taken on the issue.

  • Congress pushes its presidential polls by a month to Oct 17

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: While the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s apex decision-making body, on Sunday decided to push the party’s presidential election to mid-October, a senior functionary questioned whether due process was followed to prepare the electoral rolls for the much-delayed exercise.

    The CWC was meeting in the backdrop of the stunning resignation of veteran party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who singled out Rahul Gandhi for damaging the party’s functioning and its political prospects. Speaking at the meeting convened virtually by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior party functionary and G-23 member Anand Sharma pointed out that not only had the party’s state units not received the electoral rolls, there were complaints that no meeting was held before finalising the list of voters. 

    About 9,000 All India Congress Committee (AICC) delegates make up the electoral college for the party’s presidential polls. Filing of nomination papers will begin on September 24. Election will be held on October 17 and the counting of votes will take place two days later. But if only one candidate is left in the fray after October 8, the deadline for withdrawal of nomination papers, the winner will be declared the same day. The election had to be put off by a month as it was clashing with the party’s nationwide Bharat Jodo Yatra starting September 7.

    During today’s CWC meeting, Sharma, who earlier quit as a member of the steering committee that will oversee election-bound Himachal Pradesh, demanded that the electoral rolls be made public. However, the Congress’ Central Election Authority Chairman Madhusudan Mistry said the voters’ list would be made available to contesting candidates on demand after the delegates are verified.

    Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh, however, tried to airbrush Sharma’s intervention. “’The election schedule that was put forward by Mistry, all CWC members unanimously approved it without raising any questions or demanding an extension of dates,” he later told the media. Sonia, who is abroad for her health checkup, was flanked by Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes.

    Chavan on puppet prezAmid buzz that Sonia has sounded out Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot as her successor, former CM Prithviraj Chavan said the party would not survive if someone is made a puppet president 

    NEW DELHI: While the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s apex decision-making body, on Sunday decided to push the party’s presidential election to mid-October, a senior functionary questioned whether due process was followed to prepare the electoral rolls for the much-delayed exercise.

    The CWC was meeting in the backdrop of the stunning resignation of veteran party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who singled out Rahul Gandhi for damaging the party’s functioning and its political prospects. 
    Speaking at the meeting convened virtually by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior party functionary and G-23 member Anand Sharma pointed out that not only had the party’s state units not received the electoral rolls, there were complaints that no meeting was held before finalising the list of voters. 

    About 9,000 All India Congress Committee (AICC) delegates make up the electoral college for the party’s presidential polls. Filing of nomination papers will begin on September 24. Election will be held on October 17 and the counting of votes will take place two days later. But if only one candidate is left in the fray after October 8, the deadline for withdrawal of nomination papers, the winner will be declared the same day. The election had to be put off by a month as it was clashing with the party’s nationwide Bharat Jodo Yatra starting September 7.

    During today’s CWC meeting, Sharma, who earlier quit as a member of the steering committee that will oversee election-bound Himachal Pradesh, demanded that the electoral rolls be made public. However, the Congress’ Central Election Authority Chairman Madhusudan Mistry said the voters’ list would be made available to contesting candidates on demand after the delegates are verified.

    Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh, however, tried to airbrush Sharma’s intervention. “’The election schedule that was put forward by Mistry, all CWC members unanimously approved it without raising any questions or demanding an extension of dates,” he later told the media. Sonia, who is abroad for her health checkup, was flanked by Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes.

    Chavan on puppet prez
    Amid buzz that Sonia has sounded out Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot as her successor, former CM Prithviraj Chavan said the party would not survive if someone is made a puppet president 

  • Sonia Gandhi to continue as Congress interim president, after  four-hour long CWC meet

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Days after its election debacle in five states, the Congress’ top decision-making body on Sunday brainstormed over the way forward “and “unanimously reaffirmed” faith in the leadership of party President Sonia Gandhi.

    Amid calls for large-scale reforms to revive the party’s dwindling electoral fortunes, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said after the over four-hour meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) that the party president will immediately take up corrective measures to revamp and re-strengthen organisation.

    The Congress will hold a Chintan Shivir immediately after the Budget Session of Parliament and the CWC will meet again before that, he told reporters Gandhi listened to all leaders at the CWC meet and said she is willing to make required changes to strengthen the party, sources said.

    “Every single member of the CWC wants Sonia Gandhi to guide party till organisational elections are held,” Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said.

    The CWC has unanimously reaffirmed faith in the leadership of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Venugopal added.

    Former party chief Rahul Gandhi, general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Venugopal, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, party’s leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and P Chidambaram were among those who attended the Congress Working Committee meeting.

    Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik were the only three from the Group of 23 leaders who participated in the meeting of the CWC, which has a large number of Gandhi family loyalists.

    Congress president Sonia Gandhi listened to all leaders at the CWC meet and said she is willing to make all required changes to strengthen the party, sources said.

    Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot suggested at the CWC meet that a ‘Chintan Shivir (brainstorming session)’ be held by Congress in his state.

    Former prime minister Manmohan Singh did not attend the meeting. Senior party leader A K Antony was also not present as he has contracted Covid.

    The Congress lost Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party, could not wrest Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur from the BJP and the party’s tally in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh fell to its lowest.

    While Sonia Gandhi has not been actively campaigning for some time, Rahul Gandhi, along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had been the star campaigner for the Congress in the polls, with the brother-sister duo also playing a major role in key decisions of the party.

    Despite a high-pitched campaign led by Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress could manage to win only two of the 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh with the vote share plummeting to a meagre 2.33 percent and most of its candidates losing security deposits.

    Ahead of the meeting, the chorus for making Rahul Gandhi Congress president again grew louder as several leaders and workers voiced support for him to take on the mantle of party chief.

    Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said no one was taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Rahul Gandhi does and was fighting resolutely.

    “The prime minister has to start his speech after targeting Rahul Gandhi, you can understand what this means. All of us want that Rahul ji should take on the mantle of party leadership,” Gehlot told reporters.

    Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar also backed the idea to make Gandhi the party chief.

    “As I have said it earlier as well, Sh. Rahul Gandhi should take up the Congress presidency in a full-time role immediately. This is the wish of millions of Congress workers like me,” he tweeted.

    Congress workers from around Delhi, who converged near the party office, were not allowed to enter the AICC headquarter as traffic was held up and the road outside the party office was barricaded by the police.

    A group led by Delhi Congress leaders, including Alka Lamba, voiced support for Rahul Gandhi to lead the party and raised slogans in his and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi’s favour.

    Rahul Gandhi had resigned as Congress president after the party suffered its second consecutive defeat in general elections in 2019.

    Sonia Gandhi, who took over the reins of the party again as interim president, had also offered to quit in August 2020 after strong criticism by a section of leaders, referred to as G-23, but the CWC had urged her to continue.

    Earlier in the day, top Congress leaders discussed the party’s strategy for the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament and decided to work in coordination with other like-minded parties to raise issues of public importance.

    The meeting of the Congress Parliamentary strategy group was held at the residence of party president Sonia Gandhi.

  • Congress Working Committee meeting underway to discuss poll debacle

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: A meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) is underway to discuss the party’s crushing defeat in Assembly elections in five states. The meeting is being held at the party’s 24, Akbar Road office in the national capital.

    Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Digvijaya Singh, P Chidambaram, Harish Rawat, Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh and KC Venugopal are present in the meeting.

    Among other top leaders present in the meet include Chhattishgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Shaktisinh Gohil, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Rajiv Shukla, Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tewari.

    Ahead of the meeting, the dissident group within the party, G23, had suggested Mukul Wasnik for the post of president of the party, which was not accepted, sources said.

    Sources said, “G23, which consists of Anand Sharma, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, had suggested Mukul Wasnik’s name for the post of president of the party. But it was not accepted.”The source, who is a part of G23, also said that the new party president should lead the party in the manner as was done by Sonia Gandhi in early 2000.

    “Though Sonia Gandhi is the (interim) president, it is virtually (being) run by KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken and Randeep Surjewala. There is no accountability fixed on them. Rahul Gandhi is not the president. But he operates from behind the scene and takes decisions. He does not communicate openly. We are party’s well-wishers and not enemies,” added the source.

    The results of five assembly polls came as a shock to the Congress which was hoping to do well to revive its prospects for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and to fend off the emerging challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress to replace it as the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in the country.

  • BJP mocks CWC as ‘parivar bachao working committee’, slams it for not reacting to Singhu killing

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Saturday mocked the Congress Working Committee meeting as “parivar bachao working committee” and alleged that it offered no answers to the issues of the party’s internal rift and its leadership’s failures, and instead indulged in spreading lies.

    BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also criticised the CWC for not reacting to the ghastly murder of a Dalit man at the Singhu border, one of the sites for the farmers’ protests, and questioned if the opposition party stood with the “Talibani mindset” behind the killing.

    Anarchic elements are using farmers for their politics, he said.

    “For the sake of petty and cheap vote bank politics, opposition parties, especially the Congress, will maintain deafening silence on this key issue. They will not have courage to call spade a spade because it does not suit their political narrative,” Bhatia said while also attacking farmer leader Rakesh Tikait for his reported remarks that organisers cannot be blamed for such a incident.

    ​ALSO READ | I’m full-time, hands-on Congress president: Sonia Gandhi’s message to ‘G23’ at CWC meet

    Taking a swipe at Sonia Gandhi over her assertion that she was a “full time and hands on” Congress chief, he noted her status as the interim president of the organisation and the demand of the group of disaffected party members, referred to as G-23, that it should have a full time head.

    “It will not be wrong to say that it was less a Congress Working Committee and more a parivar bachao working committee (save family working committee),” he said, alleging that Gandhi’s opening remarks did not touch on a host of issues facing the party and left unanswered people’s questions about Congress-run governments in different states.

    The Congress again advanced the politics of lies and spreading confusion, he said, in an apparent reference to her attack on the Modi government over a host of issues, including three “black (farm) laws”, killings in Jammu and Kashmir, Lakhimpur Kheri violence and the state of the economy.

    ALSO READ | Singhu border lynching: Victim’s family says he was ‘god-fearing’, demands high-level probe

    Bhatia cited the police lathi-charge on a group of protesting farmers in the Congress-ruled states of Punjab and Rajasthan and also noted that a law on contract farming brought in by Punjab says that farmers can be arrested for breaking the agreement.

    This is what a black law is, and the Congress president should ensure that it is withdrawn, he said.

    The BJP spokesperson also took a dig at her for the part of her statement in which she is noting that all CWC are now doubly vaccinated, paving the way for its first physical meeting since the COVID-19 outbreak, as he noted the opposition party’s trenchant criticism of the Modi government’s vaccination policies.

    The Congress should offer words of thanks to scientists and doctors when 100 crore doses of vaccines are completed in a few days, he added.

    Bhatia also criticised Gandhi for not visiting her Lok Sabha constituency of Rai Bareli for over 21 months, alleging that she has been a failure as a MP.

  • Every Congress member wants revival, but that requires unity: Sonia Gandhi at CWC

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: In an apparent message to the G23, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said she is a full-time, hands-on party president and there is no need for leaders to speak to her through the media.

    Her remarks came days after Kapil Sibal, one of the leaders of the group of 23 who had written to Sonia Gandhi for organisational overhaul last year, demanded that an immediate meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) be convened and wondered who in the party was taking decisions in the absence of a full-time president.

    In her opening remarks at the CWC meeting, Gandhi asserted that every member of the party wants a revival of the Congress, but that requires unity and keeping the party’s interests paramount.

    “Above all, it requires self-control and discipline,” she added.

    Recalling that the Congress had finalised a roadmap for electing a regular Congress chief by June 30 but that deadline was extended indefinitely due to Covid second wave, Sonia Gandhi said that today was the occasion for bringing clarity once and for all on the issue of the organisational polls.

    A schedule for full-fledged organizational elections had been put before the CWC members, she said.

    “I am, if you will allow me to say so, a full-time and hands-on Congress president,” Gandhi said, which is seen by many as a response to Sibal’s comments last month.

    Sonia Gandhi also asserted that she has always appreciated frankness and there was no need to speak to her through the media.

    “So let us all have a free and honest discussion. But what should get communicated outside the four walls of this room is the collective decision of the CWC,” she said.

    Sonia Gandhi, former chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress chief ministers Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan, Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh and Charanjit Channi of Punjab attended the meeting.

    Senior leaders and G23 leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma were among those present at the meeting at the All India Congress Committee headquarters here.

  • Congress Working Committee meets to discuss organizational polls, political situation 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress’ top brass began on Saturday morning deliberations on key issues such as organisational elections, forthcoming assembly polls and the current political situation at the first physical meeting of the party’s working committee since the Covid outbreak.

    Party president Sonia Gandhi, former chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress chief ministers Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan, Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh and Charanjit Channi of Punjab attended the meeting.

    Senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma were among those present at the meeting at the AICC headquarters here.

    The meeting of the party’s top decision-making body — Congress Working Committee (CWC) — has been convened after demands from some quarters to discuss important issues, including some defections in the recent past.

    The meeting also comes amid rumblings within the Congress’ state units such as in Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan where the party is in power.

    The G-23 leaders had been demanding to convene the CWC with Kapil Sibal last month and wondered who in the party was taking decisions in the absence of a full-time president.

    He has asserted that the G23 leaders’ grouping is “not a Jee Huzur 23”.

    Former leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad had also written to the Congress president to convene a meeting of the CWC at the earliest.

    During the meeting, the party leadership is likely to decide the schedule to elect the new Congress chief.

    The Congress in its CWC meeting held on January 22 had decided it would have an elected president by June 2021.

    But it was deferred at the May 10 CWC meet because of the COVID-19 situation.

    The latest meeting is being held in the wake of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on October 3 in which eight people lost their lives.

    The dead included four farmers who were allegedly run over by an SUV belonging to the convoy of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra.

    Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra, who has been named in an FIR, was arrested on Saturday by the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the mowing down of the four farmers.

    The incident has given enough ammunition to the Congress party to corner the BJP government and recapture the lost political space.

    The meeting is also likely to discuss key issues such as price rise, farmers’ protests and the economic situation of the country.

    The CWC meeting will also discuss certain dissenting notes rising within the party over the spate of defections and the party’s poor electoral fortunes.

    Sonia Gandhi took over as the interim Congress president in August 2019 after Rahul Gandhi resigned in the wake of the party’s Lok Sabha debacle in May 2019.

    There have been demands from a section of Congress leaders for having a full-time and active party president as well as an organisational overhaul.

    The demand became intense after a storm in the party in August last year over a letter to Sonia Gandhi by a group of 23 leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Hooda, Prithviraj Chavan, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari and Mukul Wasnik raising these issues.

  • PM Modi must atone for his mistakes, commit to serving people: CWC on Covid-19 crisis

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Congress Working Committee on Monday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his handling of the coronavirus crisis, saying he must “atone for his mistakes” and serve the people instead of carrying on with his “personal agenda” oblivious to the sufferings all around.

    The CWC, the Congress’ highest decision-making body, in a resolution also questioned the government data on coronavirus cases and fatalities, and alleged non-reporting of deaths.

    The solution lies in facing challenge, not in concealing the truth, it said.

    The CWC also expressed deep concern over the government’s coronavirus vaccination strategy, alleging the supply was grossly insufficient and the pricing policy opaque and discriminatory.

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    Congress leaders K C Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala said the CWC is of the firm belief that this is a time for showing an unwavering sense of national unity, purpose and resolve.

    “In order that it may become a reality, the Prime Minister must atone for his mistakes and commit to serving the people instead of carrying on with personal agenda, oblivious to the suffering all around,” the CWC resolution said.

    The two leaders said the CWC noted with concern that the government data on Covid-19 deaths is “horribly wrong and afflicted by a massive non-reporting of deaths”.

    “The solution lies in facing the challenge and stopping the casualties from Covid-19 and not in concealing the truth by burying the data on deaths and infections,” the CWC said.

    The CWC said the second Covid-19 wave is nothing short of a grave calamity and is a direct consequence of the Modi government’s “indifference, insensitivity and incompetence”.

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    On other issues in the resolution, the two leaders said that a committee proposed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi for assessing the party’s losses in the recently concluded state polls would be set up within 48 hours and it would give its report very soon.

    Surjewala said the Congress Working Committee also expressed its revulsion at the “shocking expenditure” priorities of the Modi government.

    At a time when the nation’s resources should be devoted to ensuring expansion of vaccination drive and the supply of essential medicines and oxygen, the Modi government is indulging in a “criminal waste of money” by continuing with the “personal vanity” project of the Prime Minister in the national capital, the CWC said, referring to the Central Vista revamp exercise.

    “This is the height of callousness and insensitivity, as also an insult to the people of the country,” the CWC said.