Sonia Gandhi sets up coordination committee for Haryana

New Delhi, Nov 7 : Congress president Sonia Gandhi Saturday set up a coordination committee for Haryana, hours after Chief Minister Bhoopinder Singh Hooda expanded his new ministry.

The seven-member coordination committee will be headed by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of the state, presently Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan.

Chief Minister Hooda, Pradesh Congress Committee president Phool Chand Mullana, union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja, and Haryana party leaders Ram Prakash and Ajay Singh Yadav are members of the committee, to be co-chaired by former state minister and a known Hooda critic Birender Singh.

Congress sources said each state where the party is in power has committees to "coordinate" the party affairs and the government.

The committee will give "directions" to the new government for implementation of the promises made in the party manifesto during the election campaign, said a Congress leader.

However, the early formation of the committee for Haryana by the Congress president has surprised the party leaders.

"It is an early move," a Congress leader told IANS.

Government formation in the state was delayed due to differences within the Congress party and with its supporting legislators over ministry berths.

The Congress emerged as the single largest party with 40 seats in the 90-member assembly in last month's assembly poll.

Early in the day, Hooda, who was himself sworn in the chief minister Oct 25, expanded his ministry inducting six cabinet ministers and three ministers of state - two weeks after the assembly poll results Oct 22.