Manmohan Singh to head Cong North East panel

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi today reconstituted the North East Co-ordination Congress Committee (NECCC) with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as its patron and former Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma as its chairman.

The NECCC will coordinate the activities of PCCs in North East to strengthen Congress party in the region, said a statement from AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot.

All Congress chief ministers and former chief ministers of north eastern states will be advisers to the panel, while all PCC presidents, CLP leaders and Congress MPs and ex-MPs from all north eastern states will be its members.

Gehlot said the AICC general secretary and incharge of north eastern states along with attached secretaries will be special invitees to the North East Coordination Congress Committee.

The role of the Committee has become more relevant in the wake of Congress losing state after state in the north east to the BJP or its allies. Incidently, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a Rajya Sabha MP from Assam.