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| Rahul Gandhi. Telegraph picture |
Berhampur, Feb. 3: Congress leaders are in a fix over the venue of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s public meeting here on February 10.
Former central minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Pradesh Congress Committee secretary Bikram Panda, Ganjam District Congress Committee president Bhagaban Gantayat and others visited several grounds to finalise the venue today.
“We are expecting a crowd of 50,000 people. We need a bigger place and considered the medical college ground. But, we were told that the venue could not be given for holding a political rally as holding a public meeting there is a matter of sub-judice,” said Bhagaban Gantayat. Rahul had addressed a crowd on the MKCG ground on several occasions earlier.
The Odisha Jan Morcha (OJM) had filed a writ petition in Orissa High Court, challenging the letter of the MKCG principal for turning down their request for holding a public meeting on the college playground for no plausible reasons on March 22 last year. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had organised a BJD rally on October 19, 2012.
The OJM was refused permission to organise the fifth and final of its public meeting christened as Kranti Samabesh there on March 22 last year allegedly at the behest of the ruling party.
MKCG principal and dean Arun Dandapat said a decision had been taken in the presence of students’ union members that the auditorium and the playground would not be spared for any purpose other than academic.
“We stand by it,” he said.
The Khallikote College ground has already been booked.
“Now, we are exploring the possibility of using the Reserve Police ground at Ambapua, Engineering School ground, Kanisi ground and Sanjay Memorial Institute of Technology ground. All these are situated on the outskirts of the city,” said former Union minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu.
Southern range DIG Amitav Thakur said he had not yet received any official communication from the government about the visit of the Congress vice-president. Superintendent of police Anirudh Singh echoed the same.
