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83rd Congress Plenary Begins at Burari Ajay Banerjee /TNS
New Delhi, December 19 Sonia Gandhi set the ball rolling, as she thundered: “…Whether at the Centre or in states, let it not be forgotten that it is the party that has made the government. It is the primary responsibility of those in office to be sensitive to the voices coming from the party ranks”. Party workers must be seriously heard and listened to, the Congress chief told ministers amid wide applause - some of the claps even came from senior leaders sitting on the dais. “We must not forget that it is the ordinary worker who is our ear on the ground, our hand on the pulse of the common man,” said Sonia. She went on to add: “….In states where we are not in office, workers have a special role in remaining vigilant and ensuring that Central funds reach their intended beneficiaries.” “Many party workers in non-Congress states have complained that Central ministers do not appreciate their concerns…Central ministers must engage the local Congress leadership and workers while visiting states”, said Sonia earning the biggest applause from a packed house. Rahul Gandhi diverted from his prepared speech and echoed the same words as he blaming the Union ministers and CMs for ignoring the workers. “If we fail to recognise the task of the workers or give them respect them, the party cannot connect to the grass roots,” he said. In the evening, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh hailed Sonia’s speech. “It is very important that party workers’ concerns are properly addressed, especially in non-Congress states,” he said. “Our party workers have suffered at the hands of the Akali-BJP Government and the Congress chief’s statement will go a long way in boosting the morale and confidence of the party cadres,” he added.
West Bengal MP takes on Trinamool Congress And perhaps taking cue from the path shown by the party high command in its draft political resolution, party MP Deepa Dasmunshi from Raiganj in West Bengal went all out against Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of ignoring protocol and not maintaining decorum of coalition politics. “We don’t want an alliance (with the Trinamool) at the expense of the Congress,” she said, quoting several examples when Mamata had acted contrary to the coalition dharma. “When she (Mamata) inaugurates a project in West Bengal, there is no photograph of the Prime Minister or Sonia Gandhi. Only at times, Pranabda (Pranab Mukherjee) is invited,” she added. Dasmunshi said, “Even after the allies commit mistakes, we carry them on our shoulders... We give them those seats that are safe and where the Congress is strong.” She added, “We do not want an alliance at the expense of the Congress.” Adding further, she said though the Congress needed a strong alliance to fight the Left Front in West Bengal, “we should not have a tie-up in which there is no faith or confidence”. Taking cue from Sonia’s statement that the voice of grassroot workers should be heard by leaders, Dasmunshi charged the Trinamool with talking against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and government policies and “hitting the roads on issues like price rise” despite being part of the UPA. Interestingly, while Congress chief Sonia Gandhi herself remained silent on the issue of alliances in the coming polls in party plenary, apart from Dasmunshi, Manicka Tagore, MP from Tamil Nadu also felt that tie-ups with regional partners should not be at the expense of the party.
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New Delhi, December 19