Congress’ new internal panels include old guard

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday constituted three committees to think about and talk about points and insurance policies associated to financial system, international affairs and nationwide safety, accommodating some Congress members who’ve in latest months raised points concerning the functioning of the get together. All committees can be headed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Apart from Singh, the committee on financial affairs could have former Union ministers P Chidambaram, Mallikarjun Kharge and Jairam Ramesh, who may even be its convener, moreover former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh. Chidambaram was a type of who expressed concern over the get together’s efficiency within the Bihar elections.

In the committee on international affairs, Singh can be assisted by former Union ministers Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor and Salman Khurshid moreover Saptagiri Sanka Ulaka, a Lok Sabha member from Koraput in Odisha. Khurshid has been named its convener.Tharoor and Sharma have been among the many 23 signatories of a letter to get together president Sonia Gandhi in August this 12 months, looking for inside elections and organisational overhaul.

The former PM may even head the committee on nationwide safety. Its members are Ghulam Nabi Azad (one other signatory of the August letter), former Union minister M Veerappa Moily (additionally a signatory), Vincent H Pala, a Lok Sabha member from Shillong in Meghalaya, and V Vaithilingam, a former chief minister of Puducherry. Pala is its convener.

The committees ought to assist the get together give you constant messaging on essential points. For occasion, the Congress place on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership has come throughout as confused. While Ramesh stated India has finished the precise factor by not becoming a member of the grouping, Sharma, a former commerce minister termed not becoming a member of the grouping “a strategic blunder”.

The appointments come towards the backdrop of rumblings throughout the Congress over the end result of the meeting elections in Bihar, and by-polls to 58 seats throughout 11 states.

Out of those, the Congress received simply 12,whereas the BJP received 40, comfortably retaining energy in Madhya Pradesh and getting a majority by itself in Manipur. The Congress held 44 of those 58 seats earlier and did not win any seat within the by-elections to Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha and Telangana.

In Bihar, the Congress received simply 19 of the 70 seats it contested and, in keeping with some analysts, impacted the possibilities of the opposition alliance to oust the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) authorities.

In the wake of the end result, a confrontation erupted within the Congress. Senior chief and former Union minister Kapil Sibal, one of many 23 signatories, questioned the management on the ballot debacle and requested if it was “business as usual”.

Sibal was countered by Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, former Union ministers Salman Khurshid and Mallikarjun Kharge, and the get together’s chief within the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Youth Congress president Srinivas BV, Delhi unit chief Anil Chaudhary and different leaders.

In an interview to Dainik Bhaskar earlier this week, Chidambaram stated the get together’s efficiency within the meeting elections in Bihar and by-polls present that there’s both “no organisational presence on the ground, or it has weakened considerably”. He stated the Congress fought extra seats in Bihar than its organisational power, and referred to as for a “comprehensive review”. Chidambaram added that he was “more worried” concerning the by-election outcomes.

Chidambaram, a former finance minister, on Monday tweeted, “RCEP born, it is the world’s largest trading body. 15 nations in our region are members of RCEP, India is not among them. There are pros and cons to India joining RCEP, but the debate has never taken place in Parliament… It is another bad example of centralised decision-making unacceptable in a democracy.”

The Congress president had final 12 months said that signing RCEP will deal a “body blow” to the financial system. After India walked out of the mega free commerce settlement final 12 months, the Congress claimed victory, saying its forceful opposition had ensured that the BJP-led authorities backed out from the deal.