Government’s record will be under scanner at Surajkund conclave

November 09, 2012 04:20 am | Updated June 22, 2016 01:33 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and General Secretary Rahul Gandhi at the party's FDI Rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Sunday. PTI Photo by Manvender Vashist (PTI11_4_2012_000140B)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and General Secretary Rahul Gandhi at the party's FDI Rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Sunday. PTI Photo by Manvender Vashist (PTI11_4_2012_000140B)

The Congress has billed Friday’s meeting of its top government and party leaders as a samvad baithak — a dialogue — but general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said on Thursday that the daylong discussions would see some seedhi baat or plain-speaking.

With the government’s record over the past three years and five months the special focus of the meeting, the party looks set to ask tough questions of colleagues in the administration in the first exercise of its kind. For, it is on the basis of the UPA’s report card that the Congress will go to the polls in mid-2014.

Mr. Dwivedi said at a special briefing that the party would question the government on how far it was able to implement the manifesto with which it went to the people in 2009, and how much remained to be done, official sources said the meeting should be seen as an effort at coordination. “The Prime Minister will explain government policies and how they are being implemented. He will talk about the recent economic decisions, why they were taken and what impact they have had,” these sources said. “He will try and dispel the misgivings people have about economic reforms.” And Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram — in response to a question on Friday’s meeting — told journalists that the government’s achievements had been “quite impressive.”

Indeed, on Thursday, ministers — especially those with the social sector portfolios — were arming themselves with a list of their successes and the obstacles in the way, as they braced themselves for Friday’s meeting.

The samvad baithak, to be held at the tourist destination of Surajkund on the outskirts of the national capital, comes close on the heels of a massive rally the party organised on the Ramlila Grounds here on Sunday, which endorsed the government’s recent economic decisions. But that was an occasion to rally the troops and make a show of strength. By contrast, the closed-door meeting on Friday will allow the participants an opportunity for candour.

Beleaguered by charges of corruption, policy paralysis, and whimsical allies, the government has tried in recent weeks to shake off its inertia with a series of economic decisions, a Cabinet reshuffle and then a political rally. Friday’s dialogue, which will see both stocktaking and strategy-making, is part of this effort to get its house in order ahead of what will be a difficult session of Parliament, beginning on November 22. The organisational revamp, meanwhile, appears to have been put off for a while, with no consensus on what role should be assigned to general secretary Rahul Gandhi.

Mr. Dwivedi said the meeting on Friday would be attended by 70 leaders, 23 Cabinet Ministers and 12 Ministers of State with independent charge, and party president Sonia Gandhi and the entire Congress Working Committee. Interestingly, barring the Prime Minister and the Congress president, all participants will be transported to the venue by bus.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.