New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) with top leaders of the party and chief ministers of Congress-ruled states on the drought situation in the country, its impact and rising prices.
After the meeting, the CWC made an appeal that the party and the government should work towards a drought-relief plan. The MPs, MLAs and MLCs have also been asked to forego 20 per cent of their salaries till the drought continues.
The one-point agenda at the meeting of the CWC, the party's highest decision-making body, was the drought situation. The meeting also reviewed steps taken by the chief ministers.
The Congress leadership asked the government to take steps to ensure the availability of essential commodities and prepare an action plan with regard to food items like edible oil, sugar and pulses.
While the Congress urged the Centre to do more in view of the drought situation, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar held a meeting in New Delhi with the food and civil supplies ministers of all states.
He urged them to strengthen the Public Distribution System (PDS) and ensure that all ration shops were well-stocked.
The Centre also assured the states that it was doing all it could to increase the supply of essential food items like pulses, sugar, rice, and wheat, which had been hit hard by drought.