Gandhi family skips steering committee meeting as plenary session of Congress gets under way

Shubhadeep Choudhury

Raipur, February 24

Members of the Congress party’s first family, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are not attending the meeting of the party’s steering committee under way here on Friday.

Absence of the Gandhis in the meeting, sources say, is to give the message that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has been given a free hand in setting the course for steering committee deliberations.

“It is a very strong message. Otherwise everybody thinks Kharge is just a rubber stamp,” a Congress party functionary said.

Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee president Mohan Markam said the Gandhis would be reaching Raipur at 2.30pm on Friday.

Markam said health issues had prevented the Gandhis from taking part in the steering committee meeting.

The main agenda before the steering committee is to decide whether elections are going to be held for choosing the Congress Working Committee members.

The 85th Plenary Session of the Congress started on Friday with the meeting of the steering committee.

It will conclude with a public rally on Sunday.