Sonia Gandhi reconstitutes Congress parliamentary groups, Tewari & Tharoor among additions

Other additions include Chidambaram, Digvijaya Singh & Ambika Soni. The rejig comes as the Congress gears up to raise issues like farmers protests & Covid deaths during the Monsoon Session.

File photo of Congress president Sonia Gandhi | ANI

New Delhi: A day ahead of the start of the Parliament’s monsoon session on 19 July, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Sunday reconstituted the party’s Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha parliamentary groups. The purpose of these groups is to strategise on the party’s stand on various issues raised in the Parliament and to lead the party’s observations and response in both Houses.

Contrary to reports suggesting Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s replacement as the leader of the party in Lok Sabha, the Bengal MP continues to retain the post. Meanwhile, new additions to the party’s Lok Sabha parliamentary group include Manish Tewari and Shashi Tharoor – both of whom were being seen as top contenders to replace Chowdhury. Tewari and Tharoor were also part of the group of 23 Congress leaders who had written a letter to Gandhi in August 2020, demanding a “full time and effective leadership” for the party.

Other group members in the Lok Sabha include Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi, Chief Whip K. Suresh and Whips Ravneet Singh Bittu and Manickam Tagore.

In the Rajya Sabha, additions to the party’s group include Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh and senior leader Ambika Soni.

The group, which already had Organisational General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, Deputy Leader of the House Anand Sharma and Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh as members, is headed by the Leader of the Party in the Upper House, Mallikarjun Kharge.

“As the chairperson of the CPP (Congress Parliamentary Party), I have decided to reconstitute the following groups to facilitate and ensure the effective functioning of our party in both Houses of Parliament,” Gandhi wrote in her letter to the MPs of both houses.

“These groups will meet daily during the session and can meet during the inter-session periods as well where Parliament issues are concerned,” she added.

Geared for action

The reconstitution of the groups in the two houses comes as the Congress is gearing up to raise pertinent issues in Parliament, such as the continued farmers protests, the loss of lives in the second wave of Covid and the possibility of a third wave, and the government’s vaccination strategy going forward.

The purpose of these groups is to come to a united stand over any bill or issue raised in Parliament, try and reach out to other political parties, to make the most of the time on floor and decide on what issues to raise strongly.

Last week, at the Congress’ Parliamentary Party Meet headed by Sonia Gandhi, the party president had said that Kharge will be given the responsibility of ensuring that there is consensus between the Congress and other opposition parties on key issues discussed on the floor of the houses.