Cong’s LS debacle — Antony committee to submit report to Sonia on Nov 30

Aiyer said the committee members had toured all over India and spoken to a large number of Congressmen about the reasons which led to the party getting its lowest ever number of seats in the Lok Sabha.

The committee had submitted a questionaire to all Congressmen and they were free to send replies to it either in writing or by coming before the committee itself.

To a query, Aiyer said though he could not be sure that all its recommendations would be implemented upon, he was quite confident that the report would spark off a debate on the reasons that led to the party’spoor performance in the last Lok Sabha polls.

The committee spokesperson said Congressmen who had appeared before the committee had mentioned many issues that according to them had a bearing on the Lok Sabha elections.

Aiyer said the committee was not likely to make recommendations about individuals in the party but would try to give suggestions on how the party functioning could be improved to help it regain its rightful place in the country.

The committee spokesperson said that despite the fact the the Congress has only 111 members in the 13th Lok Sabha he was quite confident that the party would emerge much stronger in the days to come. “In the 20th Century, the Congress ruled the country and I am confident that it will also rule in the 21st Century”, he said.

He said the party had lost earlier also in Lok Sabha elections and pointed out that on occasions the number of seats lost was much more than 28 it had lost in the last parliamentary polls.