Rahul Gandhi to inaugurate Congress workshop

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will Monday inaugurate a three-day communication workshop for the party's spokespersons and media panelists.

Presentations are expected to be made at the workshop a range of issues, including the use of social media, the food security bill, manufacturing policy, Foreign Direct Investment and the performance of the economy under governments run by the United Progressive Alliance and the National Democratic Alliance.

The workshop, an initiative of Gandhi to equip party spokespersons with skills and knowledge to effectively counter opposition attacks, will see over 225 selected partymen from different parts of the country in attendance.

Party sources said that the event had been divided into three parts - subject sessions, use of technology and methods used in communicating with media and within the organisation, and scaling up the party's communication departments in the states.

The workshop comes ahead of a crucial round of assembly polls later this year and Lok Sabha polls next year. Union ministers P. Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh, K.V. Thomas, Anand Sharma and Manish Tewari will also address participants.

With the Bharatiya Janata Party often comparing the performance of the National Democratic Alliance government with that of the UPA, the spokespersons are expected to be given helpful statistics that could be used to fend off criticism.