National

Cong. CMs to hold conclave in Guwahati

By Javed M.Ansari

NEW DELHI MARCH 28. The Congress leadership seems to have been energised by the string of successes in last month's Assembly elections and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls.

Close on the heels of the AICC reshuffle, which got underway on Wednesday, comes the decision to hold a two-day meeting of the Chief Ministers of the Congress-ruled States in Guwahati on April 12 and 3.

The conclave will be the third such exercise. Conferences were held in New Delhi in November 2000 and in June 2001. This is the first time such a meeting is taking place outside Delhi.

The Congress has direct or indirect role in governance in 17 States. It now has Governments in 14 States and is participating in the coalition Government in Bihar and Meghalaya and is supporting the Tamil Nadu Government from outside.

The BJP rules in Gujarat, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh, while the CPI(M) in Tripura and West Bengal. Uttar Pradesh and Goa are under President's rule. This time there will be three new Chief Ministers attending the Guwahati meeting: Amarinder Singh (Punjab), Ibobi Singh (Manipur) and N.D. Tewari (Uttaranchal).

The decision to hold the conference in Guwahati reflects the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi's desire to make the party less Delhi-centric. It is also a recognition of the fact that the party has to strengthen itself at the State-level. Though various attempts have been made in the past to hold meetings of important bodies such as the Congress Working Committee (CWC) outside New Delhi, it never materialised.

Guwahati has been chosen by Ms. Gandhi for several reasons. She feels the Northeast region, where the party has four Chief Ministers, needs greater attention and closer integration with the rest of the country. The meeting's agenda is to focus on what the Congress Governments are doing or need to do for poverty alleviation, rural development, education, health and social welfare. Ms. Gandhi's concern is on programmes for the SC/ ST, women, minorities and backward castes.

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