Rahul Gandhi appointed new Congress General Secretary

In a party secretariat reshuffle, Congress on Monday appointed Rahul Gandhi, the Lok Sabha MP from Amethi, as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary.

New Delhi, Sept 24 : In a party secretariat reshuffle, Congress on Monday appointed Rahul Gandhi, the Lok Sabha MP from Amethi, as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary.

Rahul has been given the charge of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) and the Youth Congress.

Mohsina Kidwai and Prithiviraj Chauhan are other new general secretaries.

Priya Dutt and Jiten Prasad, the members of Parliament, have been made secretaries.

Old faces, including Congress President Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, have been retained in the Congress Working Committee.

At the Congress party plenary in Hyderabad last year, Rahul had said that he was ready to play an active role in the party, if the party leaders decide so.

Party leaders had been demanding that Rahul, who has been described as a future leader and potential prime minister, should be inducted into the organisation as general secretary to motivate the party rank and file.

Rahul led the party campaign in the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, although without much success. Party leaders, including, AICC General Secretary Ashok Gehlot has termed it as a blessing in disguise.

They say that UP, a politically key State, acted as a learning ground for him and could spur his launch into national politics.

The reshuffle comes ahead of Gujarat Assembly polls and amid possibility of mid-term polls, in view of the difference with the Left, which gives a crucial support to the United Progressive Alliance, over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

ANI