Congress denies changes in party set-up

NEW DELHI, NOV 8: The Congress today ruled out any changes in the organisational set-up at any level till the A K Antony committee, which...

NEW DELHI, NOV 8: The Congress today ruled out any changes in the organisational set-up at any level till the A K Antony committee, which is going into the electoral debacle of the party, submits its report even as the party came out with a new programme for organisational polls likely to be held next year.

“Till the Antony committee submits its report, there will not be any organisational changes," AICC spokesman Anil Shastri told reporters here, describing as "not true" reports that revamping and restructuring in the party was on anvil.

Asked about the status of five AICC general secretaries who had tendered their resignation soon after the poor showing of the party in the Lok Sabha polls, he said that they would continue in their posts till their resignations are accepted.

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Shastri also advised party men to refrain from airing their views or differences through the press on the issue of the party’s reverses and said they should express their views to the Antony committee during its visit to several states.

The advice from the AICC came close on the heels of senior party leader from Uttar Pradesh, Ammar Rizvi, demanding a special session of the AICC to go into the causes of the party’s debacle including poor show in Uttar Pradesh.Ram Niwas Mirdha, chairman of the Central Election Authority (CEA) of the party, who was also present at the briefing, said instructions have been issued to state units to complete membership drive by December 31. Mirdha, however, did not specify the detailed poll schedule including when elections for the post of party president would be held.

In view of assembly elections due in states like Orissa and Bihar by early next year, the CEA has drawn up only a partial programme for party polls saying that "further programme of election will be drawn up and intimated later".

Mirdha said a meeting of the PCC presidents and chairpersons of pradesh election authorities would be held on December one, 1999, to discuss the various matters concerning party elections. The meeting would be addressed by party president Sonia Gandhi.

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Organisational polls were deferred earlier this year following the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.

He said all the state units have been asked to designate a senior officer to supervise the membership drive in the state and also coordinate with CEA.The frontal organisations of the party have also been given specific instructions to take active part in the membership drive and ensure that a sufficient number of SC/ST, OBCs and minorities were enrolled, Mirdha said.He said the party’s new constitution provides 33 and 20 per cent reservations to these sections in the organisational committees and stressed that enough members of these sections be enrolled so that their due representation in the various party bodies are ensured.