By IANS,
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of the party’s steering committee Tuesday which is expected to discuss the Ayodhya court verdict and the dates for the party’s plenary.
“The Congress president has converted the working committee into steering committee. It will meet tomorrow at 11 a.m.,” Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said.
He said there was no formal agenda for Tuesday’s meeting as the steering committee decides its own agenda.
According to party norms, the working committee acts as steering committee after the process to elect the party president is over. Gandhi was re-elected party chief last month. A new working committee will be constituted after the party’s plenary.
Party sources said the steering committee may decide to discuss “the current political situation”, including the court verdict in the Ayodhya dispute.
The party has been laying thrust on a negotiated settlement of the Ayodhya dispute after the Allahabad High Court verdict which ordered status quo at the place and divided the land among three contesting parties.
Party sources said the decision to lay thrust on a negotiated settlement came after a meeting of the party’s core group.
Party general secretary Digvijay Singh had said last week that “all right-thinking people” should work for a negotiated settlement to the Ayodhya dispute in the wake of the court verdict.
The party has also said that if the dispute cannot be resolved through negotiations, the court verdict should be honoured.
Congress leaders said the pitch for negotiated settlement was aimed at thwarting attempts by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and some other parties to derive political benefit from the court judgment. It was also aimed at finding an acceptable solution to the dispute.
The steering committee is also expected to discuss the dates of the party’s plenary. Party norms provide that a new president’s formal term begins from the inaugural address at the plenary.