‘G23’ dissenters back in Cong’s House rejig

NEW DELHI: In a major rejig ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament that is scheduled to begin on Monday, the Congress has reconstituted and expanded its parliamentary groups in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, bringing in senior faces such as former Union ministers P Chidambaram, Manish Tewari and Ambika Soni, and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh.

The announcement came on Sunday by way of a letter by party president Sonia Gandhi. In that she wrote that the reshuffle has been done for the effective functioning of the party in both houses of Parliament. “These groups will meet daily during the session and can meet during the inter-session periods as well where Parliament issues are concerned,” the Congress president wrote.

After two curtailed sessions, there is expectation that the monsoon session will be a full one, and there is every indication that it will be stormy too, with the opposition likely to corner the government on the economy, the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccinations, job losses and the contentious farm laws.

The letter has also ended speculation about the role of West Bengal MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who, it was thought, will be replaced by either Shashi Tharoor or Manish Tewari. The letter states that Chowdhury will continue as the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha.

THAROOR, MANISH TEWARI IN CONG’S LS STRATEGY GROUP; AMBIKA SONI, DIGVIJAYA SINGH IN RS