KOCHI: The newly-formed All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC) will move into an electoral model to select its top functionaries in two-three years, said Shashi Tharoor, AIPC chairman. He said the party believes in inner-party democracy and each chapter should elect its own leaders. Being a new organisation, the AIPC’s top functionaries were selected by Tharoor himself. “In two-three years, we will move to an electoral model,” Tharoor said during an interaction organised by the AIPC-Ernakulam chapter.
Tharoor said the professional class stayed away from politics in this country as it was always considered as a full-time profession.
“In most vibrant democracies, including the US, it’s the other way round. Professionals participate right from campaigning to policy formulation,” he said. Tharoor said the formation of AIPC, which has people from various professions as its members, will provide a platform to provide inputs on various policy matters. The Trivandrum chapter has already discussed the issue of air passengers rights, he said. Similarly, the Ernakulam chapter has put on its agenda the issue of safety net for IT professionals. “We will get the inputs and bring out a policy paper on these issues,” Tharoor said. “Maybe, all these will find a place in our election manifesto,” he said.
Meanwhile, AIPC-Kerala got a big boost with two more chapters announcing their readiness to launch. The Thrissur chapter has already received applications from 25 professionals, the minimum number required to float a chapter. While Kozhikode has 30 members, Kottayam has got eight membership applications. Tharoor said Kottayam can look to add members from adjoining districts such as Pathanamthitta and launch the chapter.