Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on 20 August reconstituted Congress Working Committee. As per the list, Congress leaders Sachin Pilot who rebelled against the party's government in Rajasthan and was later removed as deputy chief minister, Shashi Tharoor who unsuccessfully ran for the post of Congress chief against Kharge in the internal polls last year have also been included to the working committee.
Other leaders including Former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, Anand Sharma, Naseer Hussain, Alka Lamba, Supriya Srinate, Praniti Shinde, Pawan Khera, Ganesh Godiyal, Yashomati Thakur have also been been included in the list of Congress Working Committee.
Among these new members, Shashi Tharoor, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik were part of the group of 23 leaders that had raised questions on the party's leadership under Sonia Gandhi.
As per the list, Veerappa Moily, Manish Tewari have also made it to the permanent invitees list.
The CWC list has 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, 32 are permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees, including presidents of the Youth Congress, the National Students' Union of India, the Mahila Congress and the Seva Dal as ex-officio members.
This reshuffle also comes ahead of the year-end polls which will be held in five states: Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.
After the list was announced by the party, Shashi Tharoor said he was honoured by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and the central leadership's decision to nominate him to the working committee.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he wrote, “I am honoured by the decision of the INC India President Shri Mallikarjunji and the Congress central leadership to nominate me to the Working Committee. As one who is aware of the historic role played by the CWC in guiding the party over the last 138 years, I am humbled and grateful to be part of this institution, and look forward to the opportunity to serve the party alongside my dedicated colleagues.
"None of us can accomplish anything without the lakhs of committed workers who are the lifeblood of the party. Today, above all, I bow to them. The countless Indians who seek a more inclusive and accepting India deserve the best from us,” he added.
Sachin Pilot also expressed gratitude for man to Kharge on making him making me a member of the CWC.
In a post on X, he wrote,"I express my gratitude to respected Congress President Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge, CPP Chairperson Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and former President Mr. Rahul Gandhi for making me a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). We all will strengthen the customs and ideology of the Congress and take it more strongly to the people."
Meanwhile, today also marks the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Gandhi was India's youngest prime minister, who held office during 1984-89. He was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist organisation from Sri Lanka, during a public event in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, in May 1991.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is currently in Ladakh and paid floral tribute to his father by a gleaming Pangong Tso lake on an overcast Sunday morning. While speaking to reporters, he also claimed that PM Modi's assertion that not an inch of the land in Ladakh has been taken over by China is not true.
The people of Ladakh are concerned about their grazing land "taken over by the Chinese Army," Gandhi, who is on a tour of Ladakh, said after paying tributes to his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary.
“All the people (in Ladakh) say the Chinese Army has intruded and taken over our grazing land and they (people) cannot go there now. They are clearly saying this even as Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) says that not an inch of land was taken over which is not based on truth,” Gandhi told reporters.
Meanwhile, Gandhi reached Leh on Thursday and is scheduled to visit Kargil either on Monday or Tuesday, depending on his engagements in Leh district, spokesperson said as quoted by PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
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