AICC to focus on mazdoor, not FDI

The Congress is set to co-opt ‘‘mazdoor’’ with ‘‘aam aadmi’’ at the coming AICC session. Sources dis...

The Congress is set to co-opt ‘‘mazdoor’’ with ‘‘aam aadmi’’ at the coming AICC session. Sources disclosed here today that Congress president Sonia Gandhi is likely to articulate the difficulties faced by the labourer in her speech at the session, which is scheduled for August 21 at Talkatora Stadium here.

She is also likely to avoid making any reference to the FDI issue, over which the Left parties have been agitating. Even as the Manmohan Singh Government has shown no signs of any second thoughts on the decision to raise FDI caps in three sectors, Sonia’s strategy is to position herself in favour of the worker through her speech.

The sources said the Congress chief, having benefitted a great deal by articulating the concerns of the common man (aam aadmi), would try to reinforce the party’s pro-poor image.

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The party leadership, sources said, would also let Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh play ball in his anti-RSS crusade at the AICC session. Singh, who heads the party committee assigned the task of drafting resolutions for the AICC session, is likely to pilot the political resolution.

The sources said the document would make a measured criticism of the RSS and the Sangh Parivar, but the real attack would be oral. Singh would focus on Parivar activities during the six years of NDA rule, and saffronisation of education. The party’s strategy is to avoid looking unduly combatant. At the same time, it would engage the RSS to send a positive signal across to the minorities.

Right now, the party is ready with three resolutions on the political, economic and international situation. However, some senior leaders favour the idea of all three being clubbed together. Since the session is slated to last only a day, separate resolutions would require different proposers and seconders.

Since the session would be dedicated to Rajiv Gandhi, a resolution on Panchayati Raj institutions, which he empowered during his prime ministership, would be adopted on the occasion. Sources said there was a move to bring in a resolution hailing Sonia for leading the party to victory, but she has shot down the idea.

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