Cong panel slams 'inept handling' of Andhra crisis
The crisis in Andhra Pradesh following Jaganmohan Reddy's resignation, deadlock in Parliament, the Central Vigilance Commission and the introduction of the women's reservation bill came up for discussion at the Congress core committee meeting on Friday.
The crisis in Andhra Pradesh following Jaganmohan Reddy's resignation, deadlock in Parliament, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the introduction of the women's reservation bill came up for discussion at the Congress core committee meeting on Friday.
It is learnt that the meeting, chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi and attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, took a dim view of its managers for "inept handling" of the Andhra crisis, triggered by Jaganmohan's Odarpu Yatra that culminated in his resignation from the party and the Lok Sabha.
The situation in the state continues to be volatile, with some ministers rebelling over the allocation of portfolios.
The core group asked its managers - law minister and party in-charge of Andhra Veerappa Moily was present at the meeting - to focus on minimising the damage that Jagan might cause to the party and the Kiran Kumar Reddy government.
The party is also bracing for the resurgence of the Telangana issue in the coming days.
The meeting also discussed the continued deadlock in Parliament over the Opposition's demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam.
Both the party and the government have rejected the demand, dubbing it as a ploy by the Opposition to engage the government in a "long-drawn political battle".
Besides the issue of CVC PJ Thomas, the panel discussed the option of introducing the women's bill in the Lok Sabha to break the opposition unity.
Reshuffle in Cong
Veerappa Moily has been divested of the charge of Assam, which has been given to general secretary Digvijaya Singh.
The party also formed a panel of 15 senior leaders for participating in discussions in the media.
The list includes Union ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni, Pawan Kumar Bansal, CP Joshi and Jairam Ramesh.
