Salman may be accommodated in Sonia’s office

NEW DELHI, SEPT 20: In an unusual gesture, a day after abruptly removing Uttar Pradesh PCC chief Salman Khursheed, Congress president Soni...

NEW DELHI, SEPT 20: In an unusual gesture, a day after abruptly removing Uttar Pradesh PCC chief Salman Khursheed, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today sought to convey that she intended to assign a “bigger role” to him in the party.

Senior CWC member Ambika Soni, who was asked by the Congress chief to clear the air on Khursheed’s exit, downplayed the PCC chief’s sudden and controversial removal. “The change in the PCC is normal and was taken by the Congress president after consulting all the senior leaders, including Khursheed,” she told reporters today. Asserting that Khursheed’s services would continue to be valued in UP and at the Centre, she said his removal was part of Sonia’s effort to “maximise the talents of party leaders”.

Although the exact nature of Khursheed’s new assignment is still to be made official, it is likely that his services would be utilised in the Congress president’s office “in keeping with his ability to articulate”. It is likely to be a specially created post since as former PCC chief of the largest state, Khursheed is not going to settle for a small-time post such as an AICC secretary, and he isn’t senior enough for a general-secretaryship. Khusheed is reportedly also angling for a nomination to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in place of Tariq Anwar, who quit the party to join the NCP.

Apparently, Salman, who had survived several attempts to remove him, had agreed to step down after Sonia’s rally in Bareilly, slated for September 27. In return, he was to be “suitably accommodated” at the Centre and the announcement of his resignation and new assignment was to be made simultaneously to “downplay the heartburn”.