New Delhi, Aug 4 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi convened the second meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the highest policy decision making body of the party, at his residence on Saturday and discussed the Assam’s draft National Register of Citizens (NRC).The Congress President also chalked out a strategy to confront the BJP’s immoral design of giving the NRC issue a communal angle to create a Hindu-Muslim divide so as to get political dividends in the upcoming Assembly and lok Sabha elections.
At the CWC meet it was decided that Congress president Rahul Gandhi will meet 51 Maratha leaders in Delhi on 8 August, media reports said.
The development comes days after the Maratha quota agitation that rocked several parts of Maharashtra.
The CWC also deliberated on ways to mount pressure on the Narendra Modi government on the Rafale deal , joblessness and the poor state of the economy.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has skipped Saturday’s meeting of the Congress Working Committee , due to health issues.
The Congress has slammed the Narendra Modi government over the NRC and the word “infiltrators” used by BJP President Amit Shah for those who have been excluded from the list , saying the highly sensitive exercise has been “tardy” and led to massive insecurity in Assam.
The NRC draft, published on July 30, has excluded 40 lakh people.
Senior party leader Ahmed Patel tweeted: “Not guts but greed for power, driving them to polarise India over NRC.” He said it was the Congress that shows the guts even at the risk of losing polls.
“Rajivji championed Assam & Punjab accords, knowing it will adversely affect party’s chances in polls. Earlier INC sacrificed its govt in J&K for peace. Legacy of Congress is to keep nation before party. This is guts,” Ahmed Patel added.
The preparations for the Assembly polls in four states that are due this year and the issue of alliances for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will also be discussed.
The CWC meeting last month had authorised Gandhi to take decision regarding alliances to oust the BJP-led government at the Centre. Gandhi had said after the meeting that a group will be formed to discuss the alliances.
The members of the new CWC are: Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Motilal Vora, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge, AK Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni, Oommen Chandy, Tarun Gogoi, Siddaramaiah, Anand Sharma, Harish Rawat, Kumari Selja, Mukul Wasnik, Avinash Pande, K C Venugopal, Dipak Babaria, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Raghuveer Meena, Gaikhangam and Ashok Gehlot.