Shivraj Patil likely to be made CWC member

By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI, OCT. 10. The former Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr. Shivraj Patil, is likely to be nominated to the Congress Working Committee. The 21-member high-power committee has one vacancy after the death of Madhavrao Scindia on September 30.

Mr. Patil, who turns 67 on Friday, is a seven-time MP from Latur in Maharashtra and is one of the senior-most MPs of the party after the Deputy Speaker, Mr. P.M. Sayeed. His name is also being mentioned as a possible choice for the post of the Deputy Leader of the party in the Lok Sabha. He was first inducted in the Indira Gandhi-led government in 1980-82 as Minister of State for Defence. He was later given independent charge of the Commerce Ministry between 1982-83 and was later shifted to Science and Technology.

In the Rajiv Gandhi government, he was Minister for personnel, Defence Production and later held independent charge of Civil Aviation and Tourism. Mr. Patil has a lot of legislative experience and has the unique distinction of being Speaker of both the Maharashtra Assembly and the Lok Sabha. Mr. Patil is currently the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance. He has also held a number of important positions in the party ever since Ms. Sonia Gandhi took over the presidentship of the party. He was the chairman of the manifesto committee of the party during the 1999 Lok Sabha election.

Jyotiraditya to join Cong.

UNI reports:

Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia, son of the late Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia, would be formally inducted in the Congress party after October 15, the AICC general secretary, Mr. Ghulab Nabi Azad, said in Lucknow today.

Mr. Azad, who is also the party in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, said it was now only a formality for Mr. Jyotiraditya to join the party. Mr. Jyotiraditya, who is yet to start his political career, is slated to address his maiden public meeting near Gwalior this month.

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