Congress plans 'Chintan Shivir'

After a series of crises and the disaster in assembly polls in Bihar, Congress is turning introspective with Sonia Gandhi today announcing plans to hold a 'Chintan Shivir' soon on the lines of Pachmarhi and Shimla.

Sonia Gandhi said plans were afoot to hold such a brainstorming session in the next few months to give the party "an opportunity to refresh its perspectives on crucial national issues and also review the functioning of the organisation."

"It will be an occasion to hear the voices of our colleagues, particularly the younger ones, to bring new energy to our thinking," she said.

Gandhi's announcement came at a time when the party is faced with a series of corruption allegations against the government and a crushing defeat in Bihar assembly polls.

"Throughout its history, the Congress has been a party of ideas responding to changing political and economic circumstances. I firmly believe that we must periodically introspect together and if necessary reassess our position on critical issues to keep pace with the time," she said.

Incidentally, Pachmarhi conclave was the brainchild of Gandhi, who had taken over as party chief a few months earlier in April 1998 from the late Sitaram Kesari when the party was going through a bad patch politically.

At Pachmarhi, Congress had taken an ambivalent position on the issue of coalitions noting that the country was passing through a transient phase.

The Shimla conclave was held in 2003 and the Shimla resolve calling for unity of all secular forces resulted in the ouster of the BJP-led NDA in mid 2004 under the leadership of Gandhi.

Gandhi made it clear that the party's future will be shaped "not by a magic wand or any single individual".

She said the party's future will depend on the capacity to work together as a team and to ensure that the organisation "does not pull in different directions".

While maintaining that Congress has a vast reservoir of goodwill amongst people, Gandhi said, "We must also candidly address weaknesses that have manifested themselves...we must be more than a election machine."

Emphasising on the role of youths in strengthening Congress, Gandhi said, the "party must be more than a party of age of experience."

"It must be a party of youthful energy and vitality", she said and welcomed the entry of "more and more young people into our ranks".