NEW DELHI, AUG 19
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on Wednesday attended a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in New Delhi to discuss drought conditions likely across large parts of the country. The Congress is concerned that this might affect its electoral prospects in the forthcoming assembly polls in four states.
Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh are expected to go to the polls soon. Of these, Maharashtra and Jharkhand have been declared drought affected, partly or wholly.
The meeting was chaired by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh among others. It resolved to ask the government to speed up measures to tackle the problem.
Apart from Goa, the meeting was attended by chief ministers of Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Assam, as well as Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, A K Antony, P Chidambaram and Veerappa Moily.
The country has witnessed rainfall deficiency of 29 per cent, with 207 districts reeling under drought. The CWC had discussed rising prices at its meeting in June when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had explained to the members the international economic scenario vis-a-vis the economy of the country. Prices of food grains could rise further if the crops are hit too hard.
