UPA forms coordination committee headed by Sonia
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Leaders
of all the constituent parties are part of this mechanism, though key
allies DMK, TMC and NCP are yet to name their representatives.
The first meeting of the committee is scheduled on August 8, Congress sources said.
While
Gandhi heads the committee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence
Minister A K Antony, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Home Minister
Sushil Kumar Shinde are the other members from Congress.
This
is for the first time in eight years of the UPA government that a
coordination committee of alliance partners has been formed.
During UPA-I, there was only a coordination committee between Congress and Left parties.
The
formation of the coordination committee has come a fortnight after NCP
leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel threatened to pull out of the
government.
Yielding
to NCP's demand, Congress had on July 24 agreed to put in place such a
coordination mechanism after Pawar and Patel met the Prime Minister and
Gandhi and discussed the week-long stand-off during which the two
leaders had also offered to quit the Cabinet.
A
statement issued by the two parties had later said, "This mechanism
would ensure that the UPA allies meet at least once a month to discuss
policy and other issues".
Among
the allies Union Minister Ajit Singh represents his party RLD on the
panel which also comprises E Ahmed of the IUML and Farooq Abdullah of
the National Conference. Names of T R Baalu from DMK and Praful Patel
from NCP are doing rounds.
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