Congress slugfest peaks

May 23: Expelled Congress leader Sharad Pawar announced plans for a new national party on the lines of the Congress to be launched in Mum...

May 23: Expelled Congress leader Sharad Pawar announced plans for a new national party on the lines of the Congress to be launched in Mumbai in the first week of June. Besides Purno Sangma and Tariq Anwar, the other two expelled leaders, the new outfit is expected to get support from a cross-section of political leaders from across the country.

8220;The final plans can be drawn up only after I discuss them with my two colleagues,8221; Pawar said. He will meet them in New Delhi tomorrow. However, the tentative blueprint is that the party will have the 8220;Congress8221; as part of its name and will be cast in the 8220;true Congress traditions as laid down by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi8221;, Pawar stated at a news conference today.

The thrust of the new party will be social justice, secularism will be an important plank and it will have the vision and thought of the 21st century as enunciated by Rajiv Gandhi, Pawar said. The basic aim is to avoid the principles and policies that fundamentally changed theCongress party, he added. 8220;It will be a national level party,8221; he said.

The Mumbai meeting will be in two sessions the first limited to a closed-door discussion among delegates and the second as an open session cum public rally at the historic Shivaji Park. The exact date will be decided soon but it will be in the first week of June, Pawar said.

However, Pawar refused to divulge information of the new party8217;s stand on alliances and the BJP. 8220;It8217;s not proper for me to say anything before a thorough discussion with my colleagues on these issues. We will deliberate on all this before and during the convention: the party8217;s constitution, aims and objectives, policies and programmes, possible alliances with other parties. All this will be clear and public at that time,8221; he said. Leaders of many parties from across the country have touched base with him or Sangama or Anwar in the last few days, Pawar said. Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav was one of them. Rebel Shiv Sena leader Ganesh Naik toohad contacted Pawar recently but Pawar claimed there was no contact or dialogue with Mamta Banerjee of Trinamool Congress, who was supposed to have applauded him for his rebellion.

Asked if the new party will have any truck with SP or RPI 8212; which was a crucial factor in the Congress winning a record 37 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats last time 8212; Pawar merely said that it would not be possible to ignore either of these parties in Maharashtra.