Congress to discuss key issues against Modi govt in AICC Plenary

Congress will hit at the two "weak links" of the Modi government agrarian distress and growing unemployment at the AICC Plenary with Rahul Gandhi setting up a separate sub-group to look for solutions on the key issues.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday constituted a drafting committee chaired by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to prepare resolutions – political, economy and international affairs to be discussed at the AICC Plenary scheduled to be held here from March 16-18.

The drafting committee will be assisted by four sub-groups on political, economic affairs, international affairs and agriculture, unemployment and poverty alleviation to be chaired by senior leaders A K Antony, P Chidambaram, Anand Sharma and Bhupinder Singh Hooda respectively.

Congress veteran Motilal Vora, the party treasurer, will chair the Organising Committee for the Plenary which will have senior leader Oscar Fernandes as the convener.

Gandhi has also set up a Constitution Amendment Committee with senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Janardan Dwivedi as chairman and convenor respectively.

The Plenary will be the first after Rahul Gandhi's election as Congress President in December and is expected to chart the future course of the party as it heads for the Lok Sabha elections next year.

Congress has kept up the attack on the Modi government on issues such as unemployment, agrarian distress, foreign policy, and mishandling of the economy. On the job front, Congress claimed that new job creation has witnessed a 65% drop between January-March 2017 and April-June 2017.

On foreign policy, Congress has claimed that the government had "achieved little" in terms of strategic gains and allowed China to encircle India by gaining influence in Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives besides Pakistan.

While party seniors have key roles in various committees, young leaders have been given prominent places as members of the various panels that will fine tune the Congress policies for the future.