New Delhi, July 5
Even as it debates the critical issues of coalition, Ayodhya, communal and casteist challenges, the Congress has ensured that issues of governance, social empowerment and rural transformation are given adequate importance in the discussions at the party’s brainstorming session at Shimla, beginning July 7.

AICC sources said exhaustive discussion papers had been prepared on the issues of people-oriented governance, empowerment of weaker sections and rural transformation with the participants discussing these issues on all the three days of the session.

In fact, clear elucidation of its stand on “people-oriented issues’’ is expected to form a part of the Congress strategy to take on the BJP-led NDA in elections to five states later this year and the next Lok Sabha elections.

Since the session will not have a separate discussion paper on economy, the topic has been broken up into various segments. For instance, the discussion on people-oriented governance will not only touch electoral and judicial reforms, corruption, electoral reforms, value-based governance, law and order and administrative reforms but also financial management, power sector reforms and management of natural resources.

The sources said the discussion on rural transformation would focus on the ``anti-farmer’’ policies of the BJP-led government and revival of agricultural growth, strengthening of cooperatives, rural employment and land reforms.

While discussing ways of empowering the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women, minorities and other backward sections, the party will also pay attention to the problems of educated unemployed and the unorganised labour.

Many party leaders have suggested that the slogan of “Congress ka haath, garib ke saath,” should become pivot of its political moblisation strategy.