Focus, take issue to logical end: Rahul to state leaders

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday asked legislature party leaders of non-Congress ruled states to focus on one issue at a time and take it to its logical conclusion as too many issues confuse people.

Congress party sources said Gandhi met Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders from states where the party is not in power and heard their views on issues concerning their states.

The sources said issues such as the Vyapam scam, the Patel community's agitation over quota, the drought situation in Maharashtra and the need for better organisational coordination came up during the meeting which lasted for nearly three hours.

The party's poll preparedness in election-bound Bihar also figured in the meeting.

The meeting came a day before the Congress Working Committee meeting where the party is likely to decide on extending the term of party president Sonia Gandhi by a year.

The sources said Rahul Gandhi called upon the CLP leaders to aggressively raise issues concerning their states and focus on one issue at a time.

They said Rahul Gandhi cited the example of the land acquisition bill to highlight how the party had forced the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government to make a U-turn on its earlier position concerning provisions of consent and social impact assessment.

They said CLP leader of Punjab Sunil Jakhar talked about the party's strategy in the state where assembly polls are due next year. The Punjab unit is facing problem of factionalism.