Offering an olive branch to dissidents, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has constituted three committees, each comprising former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to accommodate four senior leaders who had been critical of the leadership. The move came days after senior party leader Kapil Sibal questioned the party’s decline in the wake of its poor show in Bihar.
Sonia formed the committee just before leaving for Goa to escape Delhi’s toxic air on medical advice. Rahul Gandhi accompanied Sonia.
Sonia has approved the committees on economic affairs, foreign affairs and national security to discuss related matters and formulate the party’s position on policy matters, the most recent being India staying away from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
The committees have four leaders who recently wrote a letter to Sonia demanding an organisational overhaul. They are Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Veerappa Moily.
The four leaders, after flagging their concerns in the controversial letter, refrained from making critical remarks of the leadership.
Anand Sharma and Tharoor have been named in the committee on foreign affairs. Sharma had recently contradicted Congress stand on India’s position vis a vis the RCEP and has argued that India should have joined the trade block. This was against the previous party line which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi articulated last year when he repeatedly made public statements against India joining the RCEP.
Ghulam Nabi Azad and Moily have been made members of the committee on national security. Each of the three panels consists of five leaders including a convener.
The panel on economic affairs features Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Digvijay Singh and Jairam Ramesh (convener).
The committee on foreign affairs has Manmohan Singh, Anand Sharma, Tharoor, Saptagiri Ulaka and Salman Khurshid (convener).
The third panel on national security has Singh, Azad, Moily, V Vaithilingam and Vincent Pala (convener). Sonia had earlier in August formed a few other committees to advice the party leadership on critical issues related to the governance and AICC administrative functions from time to time.
Sonia left Delhi with her son and former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi who is in line of fire of party leaders amid calls for review of the party’s Bihar poll loss.
Congress sources said she had been advised by doctors to stay away from Delhi to avoid pollution and stay in Goa.