Chintan Shivir to firm up Congress' resolve for revival, says Jairam Ramesh

The Congress Chintan Shivir in Udaipur May 13-15 is a political conclave and will articulate the grand old party’s resolve to revive itself and the roadmap to reach there, Congress veteran Jairam Ramesh said on Monday. Writes ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi:The Congress Chintan Shivir in Udaipur May 13-15 is a political conclave and will articulate the grand old party’s resolve to revive itself and the roadmap to reach there, Congress veteran Jairam Ramesh said on Monday.

“It is a political Shivir. We are going to Udaipur to prepare an action plan to strengthen and revive the Congress party and deal with the challenges, political, social, and economic that it faces,” Ramesh said after the Congress Working Committee, headed by party chief Sonia Gandhi, reviewed preparations for the brainstorming session.

“We are not the party in power. We are aspiring to be in power in 2024 and win the state elections before that,” said Ramesh, adding, “it is going to be an action-oriented Chintan Shivir. The focus of the party is on the politics as well as organization.”

According to veteran Congress leader, the conclave shows that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi means business and has made it clear that the brainstorming session should not be a mere ritual. “The country is going through challenging times. The shivir comes in the middle of a grave economic crisis both in India and globally. The people expect Congress to play its role. The revamp of the organization and other issues will come out at the meeting,” said Jairam.

Noting that Congress was focusing on working out a strategy for the next two years, Ramesh noted that the conclave is not a destination. “It is the beginning of a long journey…it is a milestone of transformation. Organizations have to go through such transformation,” he said.

According to Ramesh, the convenors of the six groups set up for the shivir, Mallikarjun Kharge for the current political situation, P Chidambaram for the economy, Mukul Wasnik for organization, Salman Khurshid for social welfare, Bhupinder Hooda for agriculture and Amarinder Raja Warring for youth and empowerment briefed the CWC on the issues related to their panels.

On murmurs of dissent over the list of invitees in which several former ministers and office bearers had been left out, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that the 422 delegates coming to the Chintan Shivir have been selected by Sonia Gandhi to keep a balance of youth and experience at the session.

“Around 50 percent of the invitees are under 50 years of age. Around 35 percent of them are under 40 years and there are 21 percent women delegates who represent different sections of society and carry experiences in various fields,” said Surjewala.

The CWC, he said, amended the party constitution to make room for the ongoing digital membership drive which has been conducted for the first time at the behest of former chief Rahul Gandhi.

The Ladakh Union Territory will henceforth be a separate wing of the Jammu and Kashmir unit, the CWC decided.