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Congress panel to study Srikrishna report

In a significant political development, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday constituted a five-member committee to study the Justice B N Srikrishna Commission report.

Briefing the media in New Delhi, party spokesperson Girija Vyas said Sonia constituted the committee in consultation with the Congress Working Committee. The new committee has Arjun Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Pranab Mukherjee, Murli Bhandare and Kapil Sibal as members.

Vyas said recent reports pertaining to Sharad Pawar's removal as Leader of the Opposition was 'entirely baseless'.

Replying to another question, she said the Congress is willing to form a government at the Centre if the BJP-led ruling coalition collapsed under the weight of its inner contradictions.

Vyas said the BJP had distorted the meaning of Hinduism. Hinduism is a way of life. By resorting to fanaticism in the name of Hinduism, the saffron party is distorting it, she said.

Vyas pointed out that the party leadership had demanded the resignation of the Maharashtra government. If the government refused to resign, she said the Congress wanted the state governor to impose President's rule in the state.

The creation of the five-member committee assumes significance in the light of the recent developments in the party. The low-profile tussle between the Congress president and Pawar came to the fore recently, when the Maratha strongman poignantly stayed away from a luncheon meeting given by party leader Murli Deora where Sonia Gandhi was also present.

Asked to comment on the Sonia-Pawar struggle, a senior Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh said, "I will not like to speculate on such things." He also declined comment on why Pawar was not been included in the new committee.

A former All India Congress Committee secretary indicated that with the presence of Arjun Singh in the newly-constituted committee, Pawar was likely to have a torrid time. Arjun Singh was reportedly snubbed by Pawar during the Congress government of P V Narasimha Rao. The former party secretary contended that Arjun Singh had been deliberately inducted into the committee in order to create problems for the Maratha strongman.

According to Congress officials, the presence of Ghulam Nabi Azad and Pranab Mukherjee in the new committee also bodes ill for Pawar because they have been included to look into Pawar's links and activities in Bombay. The committee members would frequently visit Bombay, ostensibly to study the report, but would monitor and report back to the party chief about the Maratha strongman.

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