PM to give Pep talk to state Congress

BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is all set to give a prescription to the ‘ailing’ State Congress ahead of panchayat polls. In a first, the Prime Minister is expected to meet senior Congress leaders at the Congress Bhawan here during his visit to the State on January 3. He will inaugurate the Indian Science Congress (ISC) here.  This has assumed significance as never ever the Prime Minister visited the Congress office in the State during his earlier visits. General secretary of the OPCC Arjya Kumar Gyanendra said the Prime Minister will be in the party office for 15 minutes. He is scheduled to give a pep talk to the members of the executive body, including all permanent invitees and special invitees. Besides, 10 members of Youth Congress, Mahila Congress and Chhatra Congress will also attend the meeting.The visit of the Prime Minister will no doubt boost the sagging morale of the Congress after the defeats in the Kendrapara civic poll and bypoll to Umerkote Assembly constituency. It will also instil the much- needed confidence in the party before the panchayat polls. Though Singh visited Odisha several times, he never took interest in the organisational matters. Senior Congress leaders maintained that the party should cash in on the audience with Singh to clear some issues raised by the State Government repeatedly. A senior Congress leader said the party should request the Prime Minister to clarify the allegations of Central neglect towards the State levelled by the BJD. The BJD kicked off its panchayat poll campaign at its Foundation Day function on December 26 making Central apathy against Odisha the main plank. The Congress is expected to give a repartee to the charges during the campaign. A probe by the CBI into the multi-crore mining scam is another demand likely to be raised by the Congress leaders before Singh. Though the State Congress has been making the demand for the last two years, the Centre has been ignoring it. Large-scale ‘irregularities’ in the implementation of Centrally-funded schemes is another issue.