Sonia sidelines pro-reforms leaders in new appointments: Report
A series of recent appointments by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi indicate an attempt to keep under check the leaders who had written to her recently seeking major structural reforms in the party.
A series of recent appointments by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi indicate an attempt to keep under check the leaders who had written to her recently seeking major structural reforms in the party.
Reports suggest Gandhi has appointed senior leader Jairam Ramesh as Rajya Sabha chief whip and formed a committee consisting of leaders Anand Patel and KC Venugopal to deal with issues that may come up in the Upper House.
This effectively sidelines Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Leader Anand Sharma, who were among the 23 party leaders who had signed the letter seeking a full-time leadership in the party among other things.
In Lok Sabha too, she formed a similar committee and appointed Gaurav Gogoi as deputy leader of Congress and Ludhiana MP Ravneet Bittu as party whip, reported PTI. Both are known to be Gandhi loyalists. Congress didn’t have a deputy leader in Lok Sabha until now.
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This again sidelines Lok Sabha MPs Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari, who were among the letter-writers, according to NDTV.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament is likely to commence from September 14.