Surajkund: With an eye on the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress top brass on Friday strongly favoured a 'please all' budget for 2013-14 replete with schemes for all sections of the society. The "dialogue meeting" where party chief Sonia Gandhi asked partymen to gear up for the next Lok Sabha polls saw leaders underlining the need to come out with such a budget and programmes that would give maximum returns in minimum possible time.
Party sources said a senior leader said that the AICC should immediately set up a five-member committee to receive suggestions on such programmes and schemes that should be incorporated in the Union Budget for the next year. The day-long meeting saw Rahul Gandhi making a strong pitch for transparency in governance, they said.
Sonia Gandhi set the tone of the deliberations by asking those in the government to strive hard to fulfil all the unfulfilled promises in the 2009 election manifesto. Noting that about 18 months were left for the next Parliamentary polls, Gandhi told partymen that they will have to aggressively respond to the "false propaganda" of its opponents who are attempting to grab power at any cost.
Sources said that a "Chintan baithak" was also on the cards. As part of a programme of action after today's deliberations in which over 40 leaders spoke, a few Coordination Committees between the party and the government to prepare the party ahead of the polls were also likely to be set up soon.
After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave an overview of the economic situation, Finance Minister P Chidambaram gave a detailed briefing on the issue. Some leaders also wanted steps to make the organisation fighting fit ahead of the poll battle. A suggestion was that instead of the AICC secretariat, the state unit should be asked to decide the District unit chief to make the selection better.
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