BHUBANESWAR: Factional fight in State unit of Congress was in full public view on Thursday even as Odisha in-charge of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Jitendra Singh started his two-day interaction with District Congress Committees (DCCs) for rebuilding and strengthening the party at the grassroots level.
While the meeting with the office-bearers of different districts was going on in Congress Bhavan, a group of leaders demanding ouster of OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik sat outside to meet Odisha in-charge. The dissidents maintained that a change in the State leadership is required to save Congress from further disintegration in Odisha. Singh, however, ruled out any change in the State leadership now.
Patnaik also took strong exception to the activities of the dissidents and said indiscipline will not be tolerated in the party.
The OPCC president said Congress will continue to raise key issues and continue to fight for the people of the State. The dissidents want Patnaik to be replaced by Cuttack city MLA Mohammad Moquim for the revival of the party in Odisha.
Singh along with Patnaik interacted with the office-bearers of Dhenkanal, Nayagarh, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Angul District Congress Committees. He will interact with office-bearers of Cuttack city Cuttack, Khurda, Puri and Bhubaneswar Congress Committees.
The party has already started the restructuring process of State Youth Congress and a committee headed by Rajya Sabha MP Ranjib Biswal has been constituted in this regard. The Committee has interacted around 40 Youth Congress leaders from all over the State for the post of State Youth Congress president.