ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Sonia allots work to party secretaries, Aiyar to organise her trips

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has allocated areas of work to five independent secretaries out of ten, while the rest were attached to five general secretaries.

Party general secretary Oscar Fernandes announced that Sonia attached Kumari Selja, Ramesh Chennithala, Anil Shastri, V Narayanaswamy and Mukul Wasnik to the five AICC general secretaries -- Madhavrao Scindia, Tariq Anwar, R K Dhawan, Fernandes and Meira Kumar respectively.

The five secretaries who have been given independent charge are Major Sudhir Sawant, handling office automation, communication, ex-servicemen and department of external affairs; Imran Kidwai, labour movement, unorganised sector, weaver and farm labour, construction workers and INTUC; Mani Shankar Aiyar, panchayati raj, nagarpalikadevelopment, communal harmony and Congress president's tours; Usha Meena, social welfare relating to women and children and Mahila Congress; Dr Suresh Chand Vats, party training camps, social services wing (including relief and rehabilitation) and party cells.

Besides, all the five independent charge AICC secretaries will be assigned specific election duties, Fernandes said.

It is believed that the secretaries, particularly those attached to general secretaries, have been asked to spend two-thirds of their time in the states under the charge of the general secretaries. They have also been urged to take on-the-spot decisions.

Major Sawant is known to be a critic of Sharad Pawar. Gandhi loyalist Aiyar, on the other hand, left the Congress during the presidentship of Sitaram Kesri to join the Trinamul Congress, and returned to the fold when Sonia Gandhi took over the party.

EARLIER REPORT:

Sonia shakes up CWC, dumps veep's post

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report