Top UPA leaders to meet this month-end

Major issues facing the government are expected to come up for threadbare discussion at a meeting of top leaders of the ruling coalition this month-end.

Congress sources said that issues, including those related to the economy, internal security situation and key pending bills are likely to come up for debate at the second meeting of the UPA Coordination Committee expected on August 31, the last Friday of the current month.

The Coordination Committee is headed by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and has representations of only heads of non-Congress constituents in UPA. The high-level panel has decided to meet on last Friday of every month and more frequently if necessary.

The arrangement was set in motion on August eight, a fortnight after NCP chief Sharad Pawar raised the issue of a coordination mechanism in the UPA.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who heads the second largest constituent in UPA, had skipped the first meeting, but her party had dismissed suggestions that it was a boycott.

The first meeting of the Coordination Committee had seen general discussion on a variety of issues. While Pawar had flagged the issue of drought, others had raised how to tackle the growing fuel subsidy.

The problems being faced by the aviation sector as well as the investment climate in the country had also come up for discussion in the meeting.

This is for the first time that a UPA Coordination Committee was constituted since Congress came to power at the Centre in 2004 via the coalition route. The UPA-1 had a Coordination Committee but it was restricted only to the Congress and Left parties.

Reports had it that DMK chief M Karunanidhi may be attending the second meeting. Karunanidhi had deputed party leader T R Baalu for the first meeting.