Ambika Soni to concentrate on consolidation of State Cong.

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, MARCH 3. The AICC General Secretary in charge of party affairs in Karnataka, Ms. Ambika Soni, said here today that efforts would be directed towards consolidation of the party in the State.

Ms. Soni, who was on her first visit to Bangalore after being put in charge of the State, has raised the expectations among the grass-roots workers which, she said, would be addressed. Her predecessor, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, had laid a solid foundation and she would continue the work of consolidation.

She said a questionnaire would be circulated to those who had put in more than 10 years in the party, to elicit their views on how to strengthen the party, not just in Karnataka, but at the all- India level. The questionnaire would also seek their views on important national issues.

She would be visiting Karnataka every month and she would go to all the districts to build a rapport with the party workers, understand their concerns and enlist their support for the programmes of the party. The Congress would be bound by ideology, a strong leader and its programmes.

While appreciating the endeavours of the Karnataka Government, headed by Mr. S.M. Krishna, she said the party workers had to act as a watchdog and ensure that the programmes reached the people.

In an obscure reference to the disinvestment programme of the Union Government, she said the wealth of the country was being squandered. "We need to be alert."

She allayed fears that with her taking charge the composition of the party leadership here would tilt towards women.

The KPCC President, Mr. V.S. Koujalgi, echoed similar thoughts. He said Mr. Azad had helped the party come to power in Karnataka and was now in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry on a similar mission.

The party had emerged victorious in the last elections as the efforts of the workers had been acknowledged and this would continue. But there needed to be discipline in the party and any breach of discipline would not be tolerated, he said and added that the appointments to various boards and corporations, which had been delayed, would be made soon.

Mr. B.K. Hariprasad, MP, said that with Ms. Ambika Soni in charge, workers would get their due. He recalled how as a Youth Congress leader she had been dynamic in organising several programmes, taking along the young and energetic party workers.

The ministers, Mr. D.K. Shivakumar, Ms. Rani Satish, Ms. Motamma and the Youth Congress leader, Mr. Dinesh Gundu Rao, also spoke.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Set up debris bank in City, BDA told
Next     : Draft resolutions for AICC plenary to be ready in
           a week