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Mount Abu, one of the most charming hill resorts in India, is all set to host a two-day conclave of Congress chief ministers from Friday.
Everything has been readied to receive the guests, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the chief ministers of 14 states, at the town located on an isolated plateau at an altitude of 1220 metres.
They will debate issues relating to "good governance" and review the performance of the party's governments in 14 states.
The meeting, which will also be attended by general secretaries and some senior members of the Congress Working Committee, will assess the progress made by the party's governments in achieving its concept of good governance outlined at a similar conclave in Guwahati six months back.
Some experts have also been invited to make special presentations to the chief ministers on subjects like security, agriculture, rural development, decentralisation, employment generation, drought relief, health, women's empowerment, and infrastructure development.
These include noted economist Professor Y K Alagh, educationist A K Shiv Kumar, management expert Ravi Parthasarthi, and former Central Bureau of Investigation director M K Narayanan.
The participants will be staying in and holding their conclave at the Cama Rajputana Club Resort, partly housed in a 135-year-old building carefully restored to its 19th century character and charm.
The Rajasthan police have made elaborate security arrangements in view of Abu's close proximity to troubled Gujarat where terrorists struck at the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar recently.
Most of the guests will be arriving at the Dabok airport near Udaipur, 185km from Mount Abu, and proceeding to the destination by road. Sonia Gandhi will, however, fly to Abu by chopper from Dabok for reasons of security.
The Rajasthan government has been receiving flak from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party for the "wasteful expenditure" being incurred on the conclave at a time of severe drought and famine in almost the entire desert state with even reports of starvation deaths coming in from some areas, particularly in the tribal belt of Saharias in Baran district.
Four BJP legislators wrote to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot asking him to postpone the conclave and save Rs1.5 crore [approximately US$309,000]. But Gehlot rejected the demand, saying the BJP was shedding "crocodile tears" for the famine victims.
Gehlot hopes to rally the other Congress chief ministers behind him in attacking the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre for its alleged discrimination against Congress-ruled states in providing assistance to fight natural calamities.
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