Cong forms new departments as part of reach-out efforts

As part of its restructuring and reaching out efforts, the Congress today set up some new departments to deal with overseas and fishermen's issues and renamed its scheduled tribes and research wings, while appointing new heads to them.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi created a new department -- Overseas Congress -- with Sam Pitroda as its chairman.

She also approved the setting up of the 'Fishermen' department and appointed party MLA from Kerala T N Prathapan as its chairman.

"Congress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the suggestion to change the name of the ST Department as 'Adivasi Congress'. Former Union minister V Kishore Chandra Deo has been appointed the chairman of the 'Adivasi Congress' with immediate effect," party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in a statement.
 

The Congress president also appointed party leaders Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Shyam Sunder Hansdah, Bellaih Naik, Manoj Mandvi and Atuwa Munda as the vice-chairmen of the Adivasi Congress.

In another statement, Dwivedi said Gandhi approved the suggestion to constitute a new 'Research Department' in place of the Research and Coordination Department, Research and Reference Department and the Department of Policy, Planning and Coordination (DEPCO), which were constituted earlier.

Rajya Sabha member M V Rajeev Gowda has been appointed as its chairman with immediate effect, he added.

The reconstitution of some departments and setting up of the new departments are part of the party's efforts to reach out to various sections ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.