NEW DELHI, June 17 � The Assam Congress is in favour of a reconciliation process involving the two warring factions of the State unit.
This was conveyed by PCC president Bhubaneswar Kalita to Ahmed Patel, political secretary to the Congress president. Kalita was initially scheduled to meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, but due to paucity of time, he was asked to convey his opinion to Ahmed instead.
�I called on Patel and gave my opinion,� he told this newspaper.
The PCC favours a reconciliation between the two groups and as the AICC is currently involved in the process, there is little role for the PCC to play, he explained.
Kalita is now likely to submit a report to Sonia Gandhi detailing the prevailing political situation in the party, when he calls on her at a later date.
AICC sources said that the PCC is in favour of making both Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma sit face to face in presence of AICC observers. Under the circumstances, there is a possibility of the AICC High Command summoning Dr Sarma to Delhi for the crucial meeting, said the sources.
AICC has so far been working for resolving the crisis through a reshuffle of the Gogoi Ministry, by inducting MLAs from both the camps. However, it has been suggested that the issue of the reshuffle should be clinched in front of AICC leaders and in a direct consultation between the Gogoi and Sarma camps in New Delhi.
Ostensibly, the AICC is consulting all sides before taking a call. As reported, AICC observer Ghulam Nabi Azad and general secretary in-charge Dr CP Joshi had submitted a report to the Congress president after discussing the issue with representatives of both camps, including the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister is still waiting for further instructions from the AICC High Command on tackling the situation. In his meeting with the Congress president on Monday, Gogoi left it to the AICC to take a final call on ending the crisis. He has reportedly conveyed that whatever decision is taken by the AICC would be acceptable to him.
The Chief Minister�s camp, however, does not favour a CLP meeting at this stage and has disputed the contention that the rival camp has more numbers than his supporters, sources said.
