How and what to speak: Congress takes class

With the Lok Sabha poll approaching fast, the Congress is expected to come out with talking points for its spokespersons who are the party's primary interface with the media.

The party has organised a two-day workshop for the spokespersons on March 2 and 3 to take the message of the party across in the country.

"Senior party leaders will be invited to talk to the spokespersons of various states so that they are educated on national issues and then be able to defend the party against the opposition onslaught in the poll campaign," a senior Congress leader said.

The topics which are expected to be discussed in the workshop include economy, terror, diplomacy and various policies and programmes of the UPA government in the last 5 years, including NREGA and Right to Information.

"The spokespersons are the primary interface of the party with the media and need to be equipped with facts, analysis and figures so that they can project it in their states," a senior leader said.

More than 200 spokespersons are expected to  participate in the workshop.

Party sources said the list of speakers (senior leaders) is being drawn depending on their availability in Delhi on the two dates.

In the workshop of the spokespersons last year, general secretary Rahul Gandhi had poken on the issues facing the country.