Rahul meets Odisha Congress leaders

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi met grassroot party leaders in the state on Monday. Rahul Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to Odisha, met dozens of block and district level office-bearers of the party at the district headquarters town of Sambalpur, 320 km from here.

He questioned leaders on why the party has been out of power in the state since 2000.

‘It was a homely meeting. He wanted us to tell the reasons and the solutions to bring back the party to power in the state,’ Bijay Sahu, a local Congress leader, told reporters.

‘His visit has strengthened the party,’ former state Congress president Sarat Patnaik said. Thousands of party workers and leaders earlier gave Rahul Gandhi a rousing.