9 new AICC secretaries, Telangana screening panel formed, ex-MP Patole is Khet Mazdoor Sangh chief

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday cleared the appointment of nine new AICC secretaries and a screening committee for poll-bound Telangana.

Senior Congress leader Bhakt Charan Dass is the chairperson of Telangana Screening committee, while Jothimani Sennimalai and Sharmistha Mukherjee have been made members of the panel.

Gandhi also cleared the appointment of Nana Patole, a former MP, as chairman of the Kisan Khet Mazdoor (farmers-farm labourers) Congress, with immediate effect, a statement from AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot said.

He hails from Maharashtra and had resigned from the BJP and joined the Congress earlier this year.

Patole, currently the vice president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, was elected to the Lok Sabha on a BJP ticket from Bhandara-Gondiya in 2014 defeating NCP heavyweight and former Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, but quit the party in December accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of failing to address issues of farmers.

Zenith Sangma from Meghalaya was made Secretary of Arunachal Pradesh, Charles Pyngrope of Meghalaya was made AICC Secretary for Manipur, while Manipur's Victor Keishing was made Secretary for Meghalaya.

Ampareen Lyngdoh was made secretary for Meghayala and Pradyut Bordoloi from Assam was made secretary for Nagaland, while Pradyot Deb Burman from Tripura was made AICC secretary of Sikkim, another statement from Gehlot said.

Bhupen Kumar Borah, who hails from Assam, has been appointed AICC Secretary and assigned the state of Tripura, while Sudhir Sharma from Himachal Pradesh has been assigned Jammu and Kashmir. Sirivella Prasad from Andhra Pradesh has been made Secretary for Tamil Nadu.

The Congress president also approved the appointment of Mehendra Singh Bodh as acting chairman of SC department of Madhya Pradesh PCC.

Besides, Lalit Mehra was made chairman of research department for Rajasthan, B S Shiju for Kerala PCC and Ulhas Parab for Goa PCC and Idris Gandhi as chairman of research department for Chhattisgarh PCC.