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Congress panel to revitalise party

— Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

STOCK-TAKING: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh being received by Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence prior to the Congress Working Committee meeting in New Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: The Congress Working Committee, which met here on Saturday under the shadow of the party’s defeat in Karnataka, decided to set up a panel to “revitalise” it. The panel, whose members are yet to be announced, will submit its report in two weeks.

During the four-hour deliberations, chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi, the CWC asserted that despite the reverses in the recent Assembly elections, the Congress was not despondent. It had the capacity to draw lessons and re-energise itself to meet emerging challenges.

“While it is true that the BJP has won elections in some States, the Congress believes that its emergence is detrimental to the very fabric of our society and to the nature of our secular, nationalist ethos. The Congress will confront and combat the BJP, both ideologically and electorally. There is a fundamental difference between the BJP’s vision of India and the Congress’ vision. Our vision unites, the BJP’s divides,” said a resolution adopted unanimously.

Election campaigns were not enough to win. To convert massive mobilisation of campaign into votes, there had to be sustained year-round contact with people at the grass roots, with clearly drawn lines of responsibility and accountability, the resolution noted. A few members said the party should have functioned in a “cohesive manner” in Karnataka.

A majority of the members who participated in the discussions expressed concern over rising prices and the impending hike in petroleum products. They wanted the government to curb inflation.

However, briefing journalists, general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said decisions on inflation and oil price hike were a “collective responsibility” of the United Progressive Alliance and the Congress could not take a separate view on it. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened during discussions and gave a detailed reply to members on inflation, linking it with the global situation. The States also had a responsibility in ensuring de-hoarding of commodities.

Dr. Singh assured the CWC that all steps would be taken to see that the burden on people caused by fuel prices was minimum.

Another resolution, mourning the Gujjars who died in police action in Rajasthan, said the issue could have been handled sensitively by the State government.

At the outset, Ms. Gandhi invited members to discuss the political situation against the backdrop of the Karnataka election results and asked them to give their opinions on various other issues also.

Among those who spoke was general secretary Rahul Gandhi.

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