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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Congress to take up Antony panel report
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Congress to take up Antony panel report

The report was presented by A.K. Antony to Sonia Gandhi on Thursday

Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony. Photo: Hemant Mishra/MintPremium
Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony. Photo: Hemant Mishra/Mint

New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the Congress party, will take up a report prepared by a committee headed by former defence minister A.K. Antony on the reasons for the party’s debacle in this year’s general elections.

The report was presented by Antony to party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.

“I am not privy...the CWC will discuss the report that has been submitted. First it has to be discussed and its recommendations would be taken up by the party’s leadership and then we will share our views," senior Congress leader and former commerce minister Anand Sharma said on Tuesday. The date of the next CWC meeting is yet to be announced.

The Congress party performed disastrously in the Lok Sabha elections, its tally falling from 206 in the 545 member house to 44, its lowest ever. Its vote share too came down from 28.55% in 2009 to 19.3%.

Although the contents of the report are being kept secret, Antony has refuted media speculation that his report questions Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. Antony told reporters last week these reports were “absolutely wrong" although he refused to get into the details of the report.

Accepting responsibility for the defeat, both the Gandhis offered to resign in May from their respective posts but the CWC rejected the proposal.

“By sending the report to the CWC for discussion, the party is trying to display seriousness. Both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi do not want to be seen as taking decisions alone," said N. Bhaskara Rao, a New Delhi-based political analyst who has closely observed the Congress party over the years.

The real issue, Rao added, was whether the Congress would learn anything from the report and whether it would be willing to “internalize the recommendations". In 1999, following a loss to the National Democratic Alliance in the general elections (just like this year), the CWC had discussed a report prepared by a committee that tried to go into the reasons for the loss. Interestingly, that committee too was headed by Antony.

PTI contributed to the story.

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Published: 20 Aug 2014, 12:33 AM IST
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