What he didn't bargain for, though, was that his own party would be a trifle tardy in implementing the grandiose mission.

Thus, Sitaram Kesri continues to be All India Congress Committee president on the Congress website, though Sonia Gandhi was officially elected president in April 1998. Ranjit Deshmukh still heads the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), if the website is to be believed -- Prataprao Bhosale took over the reigns of the organisation on July 17, 1998.

Other glitches abound: The website names Jitendra Prasada as AICC vice-president, while Madhavrao Scindia, R K Dhavan, Meira Kumar, Oscar Fernandes and Tariq Anwar are its general secretaries, Ahmed Patel is the treasurer, V N Gadgil its spokesman and Ramesh Chennithala and Shrikant Jichkar its joint secretaries: the posts have gone to others many monthsago.The website has portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira, Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi, but has chosen to overlook Sonia Gandhi's entry into active politics in January 1998. Neither has it mentioned the party's victories in the recent Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections.

A senior Congress leader admitted to the lapse.

``It is a serious mistake on our part that the AICC has not updated its website. ``As a result, Sitaram Kesri continues to be the AICC president,'' he said.

The leader expressed ``shock and surprise'' over the omission, and lamented that it had happened in a party once headed by Rajiv Gandhi, whose emphasis was on technological advancement. ``Rajiv Gandhi always spoke of entering the 21st century with a mission. But now, our own party has not been able implement his concept in letter and spirit,'' he said.

The party's rivals are many notches ahead: the websites of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena and the Communist Party of India are updated till November 1998.

TheBJP's website even lists the Vajpayee Government's latest policy decisions and outlines the party's performance in the recent Assembly elections.