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Congress plenary session : Karnataka shadow |
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The developments in Karnataka are weighing heavily on the minds of over ten thousand Congress delegates assembled in Hyderabad for the party’s plenary session. The party leadership is reported to be still debating if Chief Minister Dharam Singh should resign or face the floor test. After the demand from the younger leaders in the Congress for Sonia Gandhi’s son, Rahul Gandhi being inducted into the party working committee, the second thing that dominated general secretary Ambika Soni’s press conference on Friday, Jan. 20, were the Karnataka developments. There are reports that leaders from Karnataka wanted to consider a tie up with Deve Gowda’s rebellious son Kumaraswamy, but the central leadership reportedly struck this down.
Many partymen thought that the Karnataka developments had raised questions about the party’s ability to manage coalitions. But Ambika Soni said these were just hiccups that mark coalitions.
During the discussion on the political resolution moved by Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, a view emerged in the working committee that partners in a coalition should respect the electorate’s mandate and realise the importance of staying together. According to party sources, the CWC disapproved of any alliance even with those political parties which were in alliance with the BJP. Observers say that this may foreclose the possibility of the party’s poll tie up with the Trinamul Congress in the coming Assembly elections in West Bengal.
To move ahead on economic reforms
The CWC discussed four resolutions, political, economic, agriculture and international. The meeting was attended by all CWC members including party president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, special and permanent invites and PCC and Congress legislature party chiefs. Prominent among those not present were Uttaranchal Chief Minister Narain Dutt Tiwari, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh.
The thrust of the political resolution was on the party determining a path to expand its base. On the economic resolution, the party expressed its determination to push ahead with economic reforms while ensuring that the vulnerable sections were not affected.
During the discussion on the resolution on international affairs, the Indian vote on the Iran nuclear issue figured prominently. Members from Kerala called for an independent foreign policy.
Rahul Gandhi star attraction
Rahul Gandhi was the star attraction at the plenary session held at the weekend. The 35-year old MP from Amethi and Sonia Gandhi’s heir apparent got into politics in 2004, but the Congress, ignoring that, projected him as its next big leader.
That is why the AICC favoured him with a “special invite” even though he was eligible for attendance both as an AICC member and an MP. Explaining the rationale for this, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh said : “He symbolises the hopes and aspirations of the country’s youth.” Other AICC general secretaries like Ambika Soni and Janaradhan Dwivedi have already joined the chorus to have Gandhi in a centre-stage role in intra-Congress politics. Both say that party workers across the country want him in the CWC, the organisation’s highest policy-making body. They also want him elevated to the position of an AICC general secretary. Whether Gandhi is ready to accept these responsibilities, however, is not very clear.
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