Rahul to preside over Cong convention in Delhi tomorrow

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi will preside over a national convention of the Congress in New Delhi on Wednesday called in the wake of demonetisation sending yet another signal that his elevation to the post of party chief is just a matter of time.

The Congress vice president had presided over the party's foundation day function on December 28 last and two months back, had chaired a meeting of the Working Committee in the absence of party chief Sonia Gandhi who was said to be unwell.

When asked whether Sonia will be present at the day-long convention, Congress spokesman Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters that Rahul had led the agitation against demonetisation and he would preside over it.

"Like the land acquisition issue and the issue of loan waiver for farmers, Rahul had led the agitation against demonetisation and he will preside," he said.

The convention, which is expected to be addressed by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and other senior Congress leaders, will set the tone of the party's campaign in the five poll-bound states, including in Uttar Pradesh.

Only Monday, Singh had claimed that demonetisation will be a major issue in the upcoming polls as it had a "significant adverse effect" on the country's GDP.

One of the highlights of the convention will be a resolution to condole the death of 100-odd people during the first 50 days of demonetisation which had witnessed huge queues in front of banks and ATMs.

Another resolution would be on former prime minister Indira Gandhi's birth centenary which falls in 2017.

Called the "Jan Vedana Sammelan", the meet is expected to witness a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over the "pain and suffering" of the common man following the Centre's demonetisation decision on November 8.

It will also unveil the party's future protest plans in this regard.

The party will also highlight the "anti-poor" and "anti-public" decisions of the Modi government over the last two-and-a-half years of its rule at the convention.

All the top Congress leaders, including CWC members, AICC delegates, PCC chiefs, MPs and MLAs from all the states have been invited to the meet which will see the party seeking to turn demonetisation into a major issue in the upcoming polls.

Earlier in January, the Congress had organised gheraos of various district headquarters as also "thali pradarshans" by the party's women's wing at the block-level.