TNI Bureau: The Congress on Thursday constituted a 6-member committee headed by former Union Minister Ambika Soni to make recommendations on electoral reforms.

The other members of the committee are Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily, former Union Ministers M S Gill and Mani Shankar Aiyar, party MP E M S Natchiappan and an expert Mohan Gopal.

This was decided at the first formal meeting of newly-appointed Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi with all General Secretaries and senior functionaries of the All India Congress Committee in New Delhi yesterday.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, the party spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi said, during the meeting, Mr Gandhi suggested his party functionaries to look forward for the betterment of the party, an idea mooted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi at the party’s recent Chintan Shivir in Jaipur.

While the Jaipur declaration of Congress had said that the party will pursue vigorously an agenda for electoral and judicial reforms, Mrs Sonia Gandhi had made a strong pitch for electoral reforms as well as looking into the issue of political funding.

Mr Dwivedi said, restructuring of organisation and preparation for the 2014 general elections also discussed at the meeting.

Meanwhile, there has been a growing demand from various quarters in the country for bringing about crucial electoral reforms that include banning of criminals from contesting elections and addressing the issue of political funding by bringing in more democracy in political parties.

The Election Commission of India has also been pressing the government for bringing such reforms at the earliest and has given a proposal, which is pending with the government.