Jitendra Prasada is Congress vice-president

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Jitendra Prasada has been appointed Congress vice-president.

Announcing this in New Delhi on Thursday, Congress president Sitaram Kesri said this would reduce his burden.

Kesri, who held discussions with Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral earlier on Thursday, said the proposed coordination committee between the United Front and the Congress would be announced in a day or two. The committee may have seven members instead of the earlier proposed five, he said.

Kesri reiterated that his party's support to the Gujral government would continue. ''General elections are not in sight,'' he said underlining his assertion on the continued support to the government.

Asked about former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's forecast that elections would be held before the end of this year, Kesri said he would not like to comment on it. ''However, Deve Gowda's reading was just like his statement before his resignation as prime minister that he would stand like a rock,'' Kesri said.

The Congress president said the party's working committee has been converted into a steering committee for the AICC plenary session which would be held at Calcutta from August 8 to 10.

Kesri said a committee for the celebration of the golden jubilee of Independence would be set up shortly.