As going gets tough, Congress plans more meets

At a time when the UPA government is facing consorted opposition attack and perceived to be suffering from policy paralysis, the Congress party is planning a heavy-duty orientation programme for its MPs to bolster its defense.

At a time when the UPA government is facing consorted opposition attack and perceived to be suffering from policy paralysis, the Congress party is planning a heavy-duty orientation programme for its MPs to bolster its defense.

HT Image

While two meetings have already taken place for the Congress parliamentary party (CPP), party chief Sonia Gandhi may call a general body meeting of the CPP to give clear directions on how to take on the opposition and counter the charges against the government.

A section of the Congress managers wants Gandhi to address the party MPs on the last week of the winter session of Parliament, preferably after the government manages to pass the landmark Lokpal bill.

In the coming week, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will hold yet another briefing meeting of the party MPs. Mukherjee has already conducted two briefing meetings in the previous two weeks on the issue of black money and price rise.

"Pranab'da felt that there should be an interactive session where the Congress parliamentarians can ask questions on various issues related to the economy. We are planning to hold a meeting for this purpose," Congress member in Lok Sabha Sandeep Dikshit told Hindustan Times.

In the recent past, the CPP has never met so many times during one parliament session.

A briefing meeting of Commerce minister Anand Sharma was initially planned on the FDI retail issue. It has been scrapped after the government decided to put the FDI retail decision on hold.

Meanwhile, Suresh Pachauri-headed research and co-ordination department of the party has prepared background papers on black money and corruption for the Congress leaders to use during propaganda.

The committee is also believed to be preparing notes on issues like land acquisition, price rise ahead of the crucial election of Uttar Pradesh.