Rahul Gandhi seeks party members' input for '19 manifesto

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, while addressing delegates of the All India Professional Congress (AIPC) on Saturday, asked them to give inputs for the party manifesto for the 2019 General Elections. The party has started the process of working on its manifesto, said a party leader.

Speaking to over 65 delegates of AIPC leaders from different zones and states across the country, the party president urged them to show their support to the party and provide their valuable inputs for the manifesto.

"He said that his presence in the state leaders conference is an affirmation of the role of the professional in the strengthening of the party," said the leader.

Gandhi also said that some of the AIPC members would be accorded in nominated positions in the party in near future. He also said that the party intends to bring in fresh faces for newer ideas and renewed energy into the organisation while accommodating senior talents as well.

The meeting was also attended by leaders AIPC chairman Shashi Tharoor, Milind Deora, Salman Soz, Gaurav Gogoi, Sanjay Jha and Szarita Laitphlang among others.

Gandhi's address to the delegates in the presence of Tharoor is seen as a move to quell reports of a rift between the two. Reports of a rift had emerged after both the leaders were seen on either side on certain issues.

Gandhi has, in the last few months, asked for inputs from the party's frontal organisations so that concerns of each community can be accommodated, said another party leader.