New Delhi:
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of the party's highest decision making body, the Congress Working Committee, on Monday. High on the agenda of the meeting are issues like petrol prices, ally troubles, and the state of the country's economy.
Apart from the CWC members, chief ministers of Congress-ruled states and Congress legislature party leaders from other states have also been invited to take part in the meeting.
At the meeting, leaders from poll-bound states like Karnataka, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will be asked to spell out their preparedness for the upcoming elections in their respective states and a review will be done of their performance so far.
The CWC is meeting for the first time since the Congress suffered electoral losses in UP, Punjab and Goa Assembly elections earlier this year. Sources say the Congress president is hence also likely to discuss the report submitted by the Antony panel on the poor electoral showing.
The three-member informal panel led by Mr Antony - that also includes Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit - was meant to review the Congress' polls debacle and also analyse the reasons behind it. The panel submitted its report to party president Sonia Gandhi last month.
The other headache which the Congress will hope to reduce at the meeting is the outrage over the recent hike in petrol prices. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Pranab Mukherjee will brief the CWC on all economic issues including the petroleum sector.
On May 24, state-owned oil companies announced a hike of Rs. 7.54 a litre in petrol prices - the steepest increase ever. But yesterday, after the fortnightly review, the oil marketing companies announced a reduction of Rs. 1.68 per litre in petrol prices, excluding taxes. The move came as some relief for consumers battered by double-digit inflation.
The May 24 hike had come under sharp attack from all political parties including allies like the Trinamool Congress and the DMK and there was all-round demand for a rollback. Even Congress leaders had said they did not know about the petrol hike and have joined the chorus that the hike be withdrawn.
Apart from the CWC members, chief ministers of Congress-ruled states and Congress legislature party leaders from other states have also been invited to take part in the meeting.
At the meeting, leaders from poll-bound states like Karnataka, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will be asked to spell out their preparedness for the upcoming elections in their respective states and a review will be done of their performance so far.
The CWC is meeting for the first time since the Congress suffered electoral losses in UP, Punjab and Goa Assembly elections earlier this year. Sources say the Congress president is hence also likely to discuss the report submitted by the Antony panel on the poor electoral showing.
The three-member informal panel led by Mr Antony - that also includes Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit - was meant to review the Congress' polls debacle and also analyse the reasons behind it. The panel submitted its report to party president Sonia Gandhi last month.
The other headache which the Congress will hope to reduce at the meeting is the outrage over the recent hike in petrol prices. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Pranab Mukherjee will brief the CWC on all economic issues including the petroleum sector.
On May 24, state-owned oil companies announced a hike of Rs. 7.54 a litre in petrol prices - the steepest increase ever. But yesterday, after the fortnightly review, the oil marketing companies announced a reduction of Rs. 1.68 per litre in petrol prices, excluding taxes. The move came as some relief for consumers battered by double-digit inflation.
The May 24 hike had come under sharp attack from all political parties including allies like the Trinamool Congress and the DMK and there was all-round demand for a rollback. Even Congress leaders had said they did not know about the petrol hike and have joined the chorus that the hike be withdrawn.
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