The escalating Indo-Pak crisis has cast its shadow on this Saturday’s AICC session with the Congress forced to recast plans for the daylong meet. The agenda, that was to have been dominated by Gujarat, will now include J-K and cross-border terrorism. While Congress sources insisted there will be no compromise on the party’s strong anti-BJP stand on Gujarat violence, there is a growing realisation in party circles critical rhetoric will have to be tempered with an expression of solidarity with the Government on the diplomatic war against Pakistan. And in view of the changed agenda, a core group of strategists met today to rework the formulations for the AICC session. These will then be finalised by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Wednesday. The CWC will also take stock of the J-K situation in the context of the forthcoming Assembly polls. ‘‘Naturally, we will have to look at the situation in J-K also,’’ said Arjun Singh, who heads the sub-committee drafting the political resolution for the meet. ‘‘We will support the Centre where we have to in the national interest. We will devote time to Gujarat as also to J-K and cross-border terrorism. One does not exclude the other.’’ However, unlike Gujarat, terrorism will form part of both the political resolution and the resolution on the international situation. In the former, it will be dealt with along with J-K. In the latter, it will go into formulations on Indo-Pak ties which will be the document’s dominant theme. In a way, the sudden change in the security scenario has put the brakes on the tempo the Congress had gathered after the success of the Guwahati conclave of its chief ministers. The AICC session was seen a means of keeping the Guwahati spirit alive and consolidating the party’s political gains as BJP grappled with electoral defeats and mounting national and international criticism of the communal violence in Gujarat. It will now be a struggle for the leadership to strike the right balance between political compulsions and the need to put aside partisan considerations in the larger national interest. Rajiv Gandhi’s death anniversary has provided an opportunity for the party to focus its energies on Gujarat. Many Gujarat-related functions have been planned for tomorrow. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will flag off truckloads of relief stuff for 120 camps the party has apparently set up in the state.
