Sonia bans phones in CWC meetings to stop leakages

New Delhi : In a bid to prevent distraction and real-time information leakages, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi disallowed carrying of mobile phones by senior leaders at a meeting here, sources said on Monday.

Sonia has, in fact, decided not to allow mobile phones in meetings of important Congress Working Committee (CWC) meetings even in the future, the sources said.

"This to stop the real time information leakages and make the senior party leaders more sincere," a source said. The party source further said this step would ensure secrecy of the topics being discussed by the party leaders.

On Saturday, Sonia chaired a meeting of party general secretaries, state in-charges and chairmen of the frontal organisation to prepare the roadmap for the party's 10-day planned agitation from November 5-15 over the issue of economic slowdown, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), farmers' distress, unemployment and others.

A Congress source said that during the meeting of the senior party functionaries, it was witnessed that the information was leaked in real time. Even many of the senior party leaders were seen scrolling on their phones during the meeting.

Earlier, asserting that "Make in India" has become "Buy from China", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at the RCEP and alleged that the proposed free trade deal will flood the country with cheap goods, resulting in millions of job losses and crippling the economy.

Gandhi's takedown of the proposed trade agreement came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Bangkok where negotiations for the long-overdue Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was heading towards finality.