BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to arrive here on Monday evening to inaugurate the 99th Indian Science Congress (ISC) on Tuesday. Official sources said he would be put up at Raj Bhawan. Besides the ISC meet, Singh is also likely to visit the State Congress headquarters on Tuesday before leaving for Delhi, a Home Department official said.MORALE BOOSTER FOR CONG: Singh’s visit to the Congress Bhawan will be his first-ever to the Congress headquarters here. As he will only be the second Prime Minister after Indira Gandhi to visit the party headquarters, it has aroused a new-found enthusiasm among party workers, OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said. The audience with the Prime Minister is expected to boost the sagging morale of the State Congress after defeats in Kendrapara civic body polls and bypoll to Umerkote Assembly constituency, and ahead of politically-significant panchayat polls. Singh is scheduled to stay in the Congress Bhawan for 15 minutes during which 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. Though Singh visited Odisha several times, he never took interest in the organisational matters. Senior Congress leaders maintained that the party should take advantage of the meeting 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 BJD allegations of Central neglect towards the State. The Prime Minister will be here again on January 7 to accept the presidentship of the 100th session of ISC.
Comments
0 comment