Sonia Gandhi forms panel on economy, foreign affairs and national security

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday constituted three different committees for addressing policy issues related to economic affairs, foreign affairs and national security. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh would head all the three panels, reported PTI.

Congress president has decided that former finance minister P Chidambaram and party leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge and Digvijaya Singh will be part of the economic affairs committee while Jairam Ramesh will be its convener.

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The committee on foreign affairs will consist of Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor, Salman Khurshid and Saptagiri Ulaka. Khurshid will be the convener of the panel.

National security committee will have leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha like Ghulam Nabi Azad, party leaders such as  Veerappa Moily, Vincent H Pala and V Vaithilingam, with Pala as its convener.

“The Congress president has constituted three committees to consider and discuss issues and policies related to the subjects of economic affairs, foreign affairs and national security,” said an official statement from AICC general secretary KC Venugopal.

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Incidentally, among those nominated in the committees comprise senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Veerappa Moily and Shashi Tharoor, who were part of the 23 letter-writers requesting an organisational overhaul of the Congress party.

While Sharma is the chairman of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) foreign affairs department, Shashi Tharoor leads the party’s professional Congress.