Expelled from Cong, ex-Union min threatens to expose Rahul

Bhubaneswar: A day after his expulsion from the Congress, former Union minister Srikant Jena on Sunday said he would expose AICC president Rahul Gandhi to such an extent that he would "not show his face in public" again.

Jena, along with former Koraput MLA Krushna Chandra Sagaria, was expelled from the primary membership of the Congress for anti-party activities by the Odisha unit of the party, following recommendations from the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

"I understand that Rahul Gandhi is visiting Odisha on January 25. I will expose him on that day so that he will not be able show his face in public," Jena told a press conference here.

He, however, did not divulge the details of his proposed "maha-khulasa" (disclosure) against the Congress chief.

Peeved over his expulsion from the Congress, Jena said, "Rahul Gandhi has made it clear that he will remain with the mining mafia. The OPCC leadership, which was once with Utkalmani Gopabandhu Dash, has now come to the hands of the mining mafia. Though I have drawn Rahul Gandhi's attention several times in this regard, he preferred to remain with the mining mafia."

Freedom fighter Gopabandhu Dash is referred to as "Odisha's Gandhi", who earned the sobriquet "Utkalmani" (jewel of Utkal or Odisha) for his tremendous contribution as a social worker, reformer, political activist, journalist, poet and essayist.