New Delhi: Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has been included in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) after the party chief Mallikarjun Kharge reconstituted the panel.
While 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees, including presidents of the Youth Congress, the National Students' Union of India, the Mahila Congress and the Seva Dal as ex-officio members.
Along with Tharoor, veteran leader Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik, who were part of the group of 23 leaders that had raised questions about the party's leadership under Sonia Gandhi, are among the general members of the new CWC.
Expressing his honour to be nominated to the CWC, Tharoor tweeted: "As one who is aware of the historic role played by the CWC in guiding the party over the last 138 years, I am humbled and grateful to be part of this institution, and look forward to the opportunity to serve the party alongside my dedicated colleagues."
He also said he was bowing to the lakhs of committed Congress workers who are the lifeblood of the party.
Former Kerala chief minister A K Antony will continue in the body, said a statement issued by the party.
Manish Tewari and Veerappa Moily, who were also part of the grouping, have been made permanent invitees.
Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Pratibha Singh have also been included in the important panel, according to a Congress statement.
Sachin Pilot, who rebelled against the party's government in Rajasthan and was later removed as deputy chief minister, is also among the new CWC members.
The CWC was formed months after Kharge became the party president on October 10 last year and replaces the Steering Committee that was formed as a stop-gap arrangement.
The general members of the CWC are Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, A K Antony, Ambika Soni, Meira Kumar, Digvijaya Singh, P Chidambaram, Tariq Anwar, Lal Thanhawala, Mukul Wasnik, Anand Sharma, Adhokrao Chavan, Ajay Maken, Charanjit Singh Channi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Kumari Selja, the statement said.
Gaikhangam, N Raghuveera Reddy, Shashi Tharoor, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Abhishek Singhvi, Salman Khurshid, Jairam Ramesh, Jitendra Singh, Randeep Surjewala, Sachin Pilot, Deepak Babaria, Jagdish Thakore, G S Mir, Avinash Pande, Deepa Das Munshi, Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Gourav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, Kamaleshwar Patel and K C Venugopal are also members.
(With PTI inputs)
