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Congress to do a rethink on Panchmarhi declaration

In a bid to rectify the Panchmarhi declaration, the three-day plenary session of the Congress to be held in Bangalore from February 14 will 'review' the party's earlier stand not to join coalition governments.

"The Panchmarhi declaration had earlier frowned upon the Congress joining a coalition government. Over a period of time, discussions and debates in our party have indicated that we must have a fresh look at this issue," senior party spokesman Prithviraj Chavan told rediff.com.

He said this issue would be one of the 'more important aspects' to be thrashed out at the Bangalore plenary.

Chavan, however, made it clear the Congress would not compromise in its fight against communal forces. Congressmen, he said, were clear that 'they will not join such forces, or share power even with their allies'.

He pointed out that the rethinking of the Panchmarhi resolution about not going in for coalition or sharing power with non-communal (secular) parties figured in the party members' discussions pertaining to Bihar (where the Congress shares power with the RJD government).

Chavan said that party chief Sonia Gandhi was expected to announce the names of the Congress Working Committee members next week.

Asked whether the party was worried about the Vajpayee government's apparently increasing acceptance even among foreign leaders, Chavan disagreed.

"We find consistent faults with the government's economic policies and this will be highlighted during the Bangalore plenary," he said.

He indicated that the party's economic wizards, including former Union finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Jairam Ramesh, would discuss the issue threadbare.

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