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Congress : Organisational revamp expected in New Year

	January 01, 2007

The long awaited organisational revamp in the Congress is now expected to take place in the New Year after party president Sonia Gandhi gives finishing touches to the plan. Sonia Gandhi is reportedly having a year-end vacation on the coast in the south where the details of the party reshuffle may be worked out.



Observers say that political circles are wondering whether the reshuffle will see Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi being formally inducted into the party set up. There is a strong demand among Uttar Pradesh workers for Rahul’s appointment as a party general secretary.





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Sonia voted most popular politician of 2006





A TNN poll conducted in five metropolitan cities has voted Congress president Sonia Gandhi as the most popular politician of 2006. People see her as a corrective influence on the Government.



The findings of the poll show that the big problems that UPA has had to deal with - containing an agitation over new OBC quotas sparked by a minister with prime ministerial ambition or controversial imposition of central rule in some states - has not impacted Gandhi’s image.



Rather, even as her mystique has remained intact, her charisma does not seem to have dimmed. She still remains the font of electoral hope for her party.



Even on matters where UPA claims success, such as a potentially path-breaking nuclear deal with the US, it has been Sonia Gandhi who has provided the critical mass. Even as PM Manmohan Singh staked his political capital on the civil nuclear cooperation pact, behind the scenes, it was Gandhi who gave ties with Washington a quiet push once she was convinced of the agreement’s benefits.



On domestic issues, the Congress chief has not lost sight of the party’s popular politics and compulsions. After having dropped several hints that the government should cut fuel prices, she finally read out the order at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party.



She has managed to earn the respect of her team of office-bearers who see her as a fair and efficient leader.



When Congress’s heir apparent Rahul Gandhi made a somewhat premature announcement of his plans to lead the Congress in UP, senior party leaders swiftly stepped in. Aware that UP was no easy fight, they announced that the Gandhi scion could not be confined to one state and he would have a national role to play. They could do so, as they knew that Sonia Gandhi would appreciate their concern both for Rahul and the Congress.



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Congress leaders from Telangana hold secret meetings



Congress leaders from Telangana are reported to have held a secret meeting in Hyderabad where they discussed the issue of a separate Telangana state to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh. The leaders who attended the meeting are said to have included Union Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, Congress Deputy leader in the Lok Sabha G. Venkataswamy, Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumantha Rao and State Congress president K. Keshava Rao. The leaders reportedly decided to impress upon the Congress high command not to set up a second States Reorganisation Commission to look at the prospect of carving out a separate state. They wanted the central government to straight away work for a separate Telangana state. The view at the meeting was that the second SRC would spell more trouble for the party. The SRC is being seen as a delaying tactic.





Congress foundation day celebrated



Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi led the party in celebrating the 121st anniversary of its foundation on Thursday, Dec. 28. Sonia Gandhi unfurled the party tricolour at the Congress HQ in the national capital.



The Indian National Congress was founded on this day in 1885.



In another move, the Congress has decided to hold public meetings in different parts of the country to mark the centenary year of the Satyagraha launched by Mahatma Gandhi. The first meeting will be held at Champaran in Bihar.





Left : Campaign against neo-liberal economic policies



The CPI(M) has decided to intensify its campaign against what it calls neo-liberal economic policies of the Centre. An editorial in the party’s journal, People’s Democracy, said that the focus in 2007 will be on the need to transform the Government’s economic policies from being “preoccupied with capitalist profits to “working towards improving the people’s welfare.” The editorial said that the government should bring in more people-oriented legislation like the Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Right to Information Act.



On the issue of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, the CPI(M) said it has to be ensured that the UPA Government does not allow US imperialism to either influence India’s independent foreign policy or undermine its sovereignty.



The party said it would intensify its focus on the agricultural crisis. “The crisis in rural India is deepening. No number of packages announced by the PM has stemmed the tide of growing suicide by farmers. Agricultural growth continues to stagnate,” it added.