CWC meet: Sonia Gandhi attacks PM Narendra Modi for his silence on provocative statements

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With the party facing a depleting support base ever since its debacle in the general elections last year, Sonia asked senior leaders to “propose ways and means to reach out to the masses” at the meeting which was held to deliberate on plans for holding nationwide agitations against the land ordinance and other farmer issues.

On the question of the ordinance, she said, “The country’s democratic institutions are being undermined. The BJP-led government has already promulgated 10 ordinances in its seven-month tenure”, and added that the NDA dispensation is operating through a “perilous” notion that ordinances constitute goood governance.

She also questioned whether there was “an ulterior motive behind this hurry (to bring ordinances)?”

Accusing the government of having “effectively destroyed” the Land Acquisition Act, which was brought in by the Congress -led UPA, she said that NDA “brought back, through the back door, the law passed by the British in 1894.”

At the meeting which went on for four hours, the party also discussed organisational issues like re-introducing the active-member concept, bringing down the tenure of elected office bearers from five to three years and providing 50 per cent reservation to SC, ST, OBC and minorities in district and state committees of the party.

Also at the meeting, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi made a strong pitch for empowering grassroots workers and delegating powers to block presidents.

Meanwhile, scotching media speculation regarding elevation of Rahul as the Congress president, AICC general secretary Ambika Soni said the matter was not on the agenda of CWC and there was no discussion in that regard at the meeting.

“That was not on the agenda. What was not on the agenda cannot be disccused… When we are getting the help of both, why are you talking about it again and again,” she said when asked whether anybody had raised the issue of Rahul’s elevation.

Sonia noted that all Congress workers and leaders have to contribute towards reviving the party’s fortunes and acknowledged that both “structural changes and changes in the leadership style are required”.

“While it is important that we reflect on shortcomings that caused our defeat both in Lok Sabha (polls) and in recent Assembly elections and on the need to re-energise our party, we need to be extra vigilant about what is happening around us,” the Congress chief said as she accused BJP of undermining institutions by following the ordinance route.

She said that a key aspect for the strengthening of Congress would be the expansion of the party’s worker base.

“Our organisational structure must be such as to allow for our membership drive to become a force to galvanise our workers. We will use our ongoing membership enrolment programme to launch a mass-contact mission, which has to be unprecedented in scale and scope.

“As we are embarking on registering new members, we have to ensure that our internal processes and systems are sufficiently robust to recognise, reward and nurture talent,” the Congress President said before the CWC took up detailed discussion on organisational issues.

Expressing confidence that Congress will bounce back, Sonia said, “The way forward should be that we go back to the people. All of us, from the AICC down to the block level, need to renew ties and connections with people everywhere, listen to their grievances and aspirations and then find a way to articulate their hopes and desires.”

She said that a mass political party has to reach out to all sections of society.

“Congress has a historical obligation to renew, reinvigorate and revive itself. This is as much true of the organisation as of the individuals themselves,” she added.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said they had held detailed discussions on whether to continue with the five-year tenure for party office bearers, as was enforced through an amendment at the Burari session of Congress in 2010, or go back to the earlier three-year tenure.

“Earlier, there was a provision for two kinds of members. After two years of their enrolment as members, they used to be elevated as active members. It was later changed to only one kind of membership. Leaders today discussed whether to revert to the old system of two kinds of membership.

“Besides, there was also a deliberation on whether there should be separate membership for Congress and its front wings, like Mahila Congress, Youth Congress, Seva Dal and others, or whether it should be one. There was also discussion on reserving 50 per cent seats for OBCs, SCs, STs and minorities in states and districts,” Dwivedi said.

(With inputs from PTI)