Sonia, Rahul for APCC meet

New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi has agreed to inaugurate a two-day APCC brainstorming session planned in the State sometime after August 15. AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi will spend quality time and deliver the valedictory address at the meeting. This was revealed by APCC President N Raghveera Reddy, after the APCC leaders met AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh.

Raghuveera Reddy, who led senior Congress leaders K Chiranjeevi, Jairam Ramesh, M M Pallam Raju and J D Seelam to the review meeting chaired by Digivijay Singh, said in July the party will be constituted from the Mandal-level upwards to the PCC, appointing around 2,000 office-bearers at all levels. Most of them will be new faces, persons, who are committed to the Congress and only such persons will be given an opportunity, he said. These office-bearers will all be invited for the brainstorming session, where the roadmap for the party revival in Andhra Pradesh will be unveiled. In September, DCC level conventions will be organized, he said.

The APCC President has also hinted that the party apparatus will be modernized and video-conferencing will be organized between the PCC and the DCCs. The Congress will also actively side with the people in opposing the anti-people policies and programmes of the TDP and the BJP. On June 17, the APCC organized a day-long workers convention, where the party identified the main causes for the defeat of the Congress. The agenda for the one-day convention was to find out reasons for the party’s defeat and drawing up a roadmap for Congress revival in Andhra Pradesh.

All the issues were compiled and presented in the form of a report to Digvijay Singh. The Congress leaders listed to Digvijay Singh a number of reasons for the debacle of the Congress. For instance, YSRCP leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy claimed ownership for the Congress welfare programmes. Aadhar linkage to welfare schemes slowed down the implementation. Price-rise and anti-incumbency also had gone against the Congress.

The Congress leaders were particularly critical of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran, who was accused of a hidden agenda to completely corner the Congress in the State. The Chief Minister neglected the party. It was pointed out that when Kiran Kumar Reddy resigned as State Chief Minister, no attempt for an alternative Government was made, paving the way for the imposition of President’s rule. The money-power in the elections also adversely affected the Congress poll prospects. The worst impact was the deliberate campaign that the Congress was not a serious player, which forced even the most committed voter choosing to vote for another party.