Faisal Fareed
Daijiworld Media Network - Lucknow

*Co-ordination committee between government and party formed
*Shastri removed from Congress Sandesh, Renuka and Alvi new spokesperson

Lucknow, Aug 6: UPA chairperson and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's illness came as a blessing in disguise for some Congress leaders. Before leaving for her treatment in USA, the Congress head provided the much-needed succor to some veteran and middle-level Congress leaders. She gave them work and also formed committees which will act as a bridge between the government and party during her absence. Political analysts view her decisions as judicious and taken for maintaining discipline in the party cadre.

With Sonia away for at least one month from active political scene, she has relocated former minister and now literally unemployed Suresh Pachauri as the head of a Research and Co-ordination committee. Pachauri who was without any assignment after being removed from the post of state president of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) will lead the committee which has stalwarts as Janardan Dwivedi, Digivijay Singh, union ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni, Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Bansal, Anand Sharma, Mukul Wasnik, Renuka Choudhary besides Sandeep Dixit and Manish Tiwari. The committee will act as a link between government and party cadres.

Media Cell has also been reconstituted with Janardan Dwivedi as Chairman and spokespersons list has Renuka Choudhary and Rashid Alvi as new names. The old ones as Manish Tiwari and Abhishek Manu Singhavi will continue in their post.

The major change is that Sonia has removed Anil Shastri who is the son of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri as the editor of Congress party's mouthpiece - Congress Sandesh. Shastri paid the price for criticizing three ministers who went to receive Swami Ramdev during his Delhi visit at airport in his editorial.

Now former minister Girija Vyas will be the new editor with Salman Khurshid and Jairam Ramesh as the new editorial board members. Vyas will also lead a new cell known as Thought Cell (Vichar Prakosht) of the party. Shastri has been rehabilitated as chief of hindi cell with his associate Pankaj Sharma as secretary.

Meanwhile, Media Cell Chairman for Congress Janardan Dwivedi urged the media emotionally on Friday to maintain privacy over Sonia's illness. She has been successfully operated on August 4. Presently recovering, her son Rahul Gandhi, daughter Priyanka and son in law Robert Vadhera are with her. Dwivedi stated that the changes which have been effected reflect that Congress is working smoothly.

Wishes too are pouring in with Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Chief Minister of UP Mayawati extending satisfaction over her successful surgery and wishing her speedy recovery.