NEW DELHI, Oct 26: Soon after taking over as the Congress president on Wednesday, Mallikaurjun Kharge formed a 47-member Steering Committee which will function as the highest policy-making body of the party in place of the Congress Working Committee which was disbanded after all its members resigned on change of the president to enable him to form his own team.
As per the party’s constitution, the new CWC would be formed only at the plenary session of party expected to be held in March-April to endorse the election of Kharge as the new president.
“All the CWC members, AICC general secretaries and in-charges have tendered their resignation to Congress president,” said AICC general secretary Organisation KC Venugopal. All the office bearers — general secretaries and in-charges — have now been included in the steering committee which also has as its members the outgoing president Sonia Gandhi, the former prime minister Manmohan Singh and the former party president Rahul Gandhi.
Mr Kharge has maintained that he believed in collective leadership and would consult Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi if needed. “They have done good for this country. Their advice will benefit the party… so I will definitely seek their advice and support. There is no shame in it,” he had said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
