Sonia meets NE Cong leaders, discusses NRC and other issues

Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi on Friday met party leaders from the northeastern states to discuss the problems those states are facing, the issue of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and also decided to strengthen the Northeastern Coordination Committee.

The meeting was attended by top Congress leaders from the north-east, including former chief ministers and secretary in-charge of the north eastern states Luizinho Faleiro.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party senior leader Ahmed Patel and K.C. Venugopal were also present at the meeting that lasted for three hours.

After the meeting, Faleiro told reporters: "Sonia Gandhi had called the meeting of all the northeastern states. We met her along with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ahmed Patel and K.C. Venugopal."

He said during the meeting they discussed problems facing the northeastern states and the party leaders gave their inputs.

"One thing has been decided in the meeting to strengthen and consolidate Northeast Coordination Committee. We have also decided to put up a prominent office in Guwahati and we have also decided that we will meet and discuss periodically so that the problems of the northeastern states that are growing and mounting today have to be stressed out and we have come together in unity," Faleiro said.

Faleiro said the issue of the NRC in Assam was among the issues discussed at the meeting.

The Congress leader said issues pertaining to the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which was opposed in the Rajya Sabha and is a part of the BJP manifesto, were also discussed threadbare.

The problems arising out of the NRC in Assam and other issues were also discussed during the meeting, party sources said.

The meeting comes a day after Sonia Gandhi held a meeting with all the general secretaries, state in-charges, state unit chiefs and CLP leaders on Thursday and advised the party leaders that they should not only agitate on Twitter but also on the ground.IANS