Saturday, January 22 2005 09:30 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram will be meeting Congress leaders today (Jan 22, 2005) at the party headquarters to get their inputs for the forthcoming budget, the first such interaction in several years.

Party sources said that AICC (All India Congress Committee) office bearers are expected to give several suggestions to the Finance Minister on the implementation of Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government and on the country's economic policies.

The exercise assumes significance as it is being held a month before the presentation of the Union Budget for 2005/06.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who is also UPA Chairperson, is unlikely to be present during the deliberations but her Political Secretary Ahmed Patel as also AICC General Secretaries and Secretaries are expected to be present.

This is the first such interaction by a Union Minister with AICC office bearers. Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy had earlier held meetings with members of the AICC Media Committee at which some of the party office bearers were also present.