Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is likely to remain the Congress's Leader in the Lok Sabha for now, sources indicated today ahead of its Parliamentary party meeting. The parliamentary group is expected to meet today to discuss various issues that can be taken up during the monsoon session, which begins on July 19.
A section of party leaders had earlier said that there might be a change on the basis of its one-man-one-post rule. Mr Chowdhury is also the chief of the party's Bengal unit.
"The decision has been taken (regarding the removal of Mr Choudhury)," a leader said. What is unclear is the timeline, it might even happen during the organisational changes that take place after the parliament's monsoon session, sources said.
Sources said at today's meeting, the party will discuss the list of issues on which it hopes to corner the government. The prominent ones are the ongoing price rise as the economy goes into a tailspin and the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The opposition has been vehement in its criticism of the slow pace of vaccination and the letting down of guard that led to the second surge of the disease in April-May, which took a huge toll on the people and the healthcare system.
There is also indication that the party will raise the Rafale issue, which lost steam after the overwhelming BJP victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The Congress has claimed that the recent order from a French court about an investigation into alleged "corruption and favouritism" in the Rs 59,000-crore deal is a vindication of its corruption allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.
