Shinde not invited to Cong Core Group meet

It is a decision that Congress president takes on her own, a senior leader said when asked why Shinde was not invited and what the non-inclusion of Shinde in the group meant. Besides Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,the other members of the group are Defence Minister A K Antony,Finance Minister P Chidambaram and political secretary to the Congress president Ahmed Patel.

There had been speculation earlier that Shinde would be made a member of the Core Group since he was made the Home Minister. As the Home Minister,Shinde automatically became a member of key Cabinet committees including the Cabinet Committee on Security CCS and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs CCEA.

The Congress Core Group meets each Friday to review decisions taken by the government over the week and gives direction on contentious issues that are coming up. On occasion,other ministers are called for the meeting to brief the members on certain issues. For instance,a few weeks back,Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had been invited to brief members on the Presidential election.

The contention in political circles is that party general secretary Rahul Gandhi may be made a member of the Core Group in September once there is clarity on his larger role that he will be taking on in the party or the government.