This Article is From Jan 10, 2017

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi To Preside Over Party Convention Tomorrow

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi To Preside Over Party Convention Tomorrow

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is expected to kick-start an agitation against the centre tomorrow.

New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will preside over a party convention tomorrow at New Delhi's Talkatora Stadium to unveil an agitation against the government's demonetisation drive and other "anti-poor" policies. The convention will also be attended and addressed by senior Congress leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The convention comes days before assembly polls kick-start in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur.

Asked whether Congress President Sonia Gandhi will attend the convention, party spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said, "Like the land acquisition issue and the issue of loan waiver for farmers, Rahul Gandhi had led the agitation against demonetisation and he will preside."

In the absence of his mother, Mr Gandhi had chaired a key meeting of the Congress Working Committee last year and had presided over the party's foundation day ceremony on December 28.

The convention is also expected to be coloured by the crucial issue of demonetisation. Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh had, yesterday, released the Congress manifesto in Punjab and stated that demonetisation will be a major issue in the upcoming polls as it had an "adverse" effect on the Indian economy. The party will also discuss plans for former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's birth centenary in 2017 tomorrow.

Mr Gandhi, who returned from a 11-day vacation today, is expected to cancel his trip to China next week amidst criticism that he has been holidaying instead of focussing on the upcoming assembly polls.

(with inputs from PTI)
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