BHUBANESWAR: The two-day recent visit of AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi to Orissa may have galvanised the party rank and file, but it has failed to intensify the anti-Naveen campaign.Rahul’s observation that lack of implementation of Central schemes is the main problem in Orissa and the State Government here is not as corrupt as that in Uttar Pradesh has sent confusing signals to the party rank and file. The comparison has no doubt come as a relief for the Naveen Patnaik government which is passing through a hard time because of the multi-crore mining scam, the largescale irregularities in the procurement of pulses for Midday Meal Scheme and the coal scam. The resurfacing of the ‘horse-trading’ controversy has also been embarrassing for Naveen. Several senior Congress leaders maintained that such an observation will definitely be exploited by the BJD and BJP leaders. While the BJD leaders have started describing it as a certificate from Rahul to the Naveen government, the BJP will allege that the top Congress and BJD leaders have tacit understanding. The Congress leader tried to make up for this at the public meeting he later addressed here by describing the Naveen government as corrupt and asking the Youth Congress leaders to go to the villages to launch campaign so that it can be removed. But the damage had been done, a senior leader said. Rahul’s stand on Posco has also put the State Congress leaders on the backfoot. This is not for the first time that visiting national leaders have praised the Naveen Patnaik government. The situation changed only after Jagdish Tytler was kept in charge of Orissa and he started raising corruption issues. However, several Congress leaders maintained that Rahul’s visit also had some positives. The Congress organisation had become dormant after the 2009 general elections. The visit of Rahul to six districts activated the moribund units. After a long time some movements were visible in the Congress units across the State, a senior leader said. Stating that Rahul’s visit had a great impact on the State unit, party spokesman Arjya Kumar Gyanendra said that it was not easy within such a short notice to have so many public meetings at different parts of the State. Senior leader and former minister Narasingh Mishra said that the purpose behind Rahul’s visit had been achieved. The organisation has become active again, he said and added that the membership of Youth Congress will also increase.
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