Bhubaneswar, June 11: Youth and student wing leaders of the state Congress have kept the party afloat at a time when its senior leaders have been wasting their energy in factional fights with clamour for the removal of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Prasad Harichandan growing in the wake of party's abysmal performance in the last panchayat polls.

In sharp contrast to the demoralising scenario of seniors making frequent visits to Delhi to either campaign for or against Harichandan, the youth and student leaders have been picking up right issues to hit the streets. The party's youth wing was in focus yesterday with its activists led by state working president Lokanath Maharathy hurling eggs and waving black flags at the convoy of Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh to protest against the police firing on farmers in Madhya Pradesh.

Five youth Congress activists including Maharathy were arrested but not before they had sent across to the people the message they wanted to convey and struck the right chord with state's farmers. The activists of National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the party, has similarly kept itself in focus with demonstrations on crucial issues such as the alleged sex tape of city mayor Ananta Narayan Jena and the placement scam in Siksha O Anusandhan (SOA) University.

On May 16, the state youth Congress had also staged Yuva Adhikar Samabesh in the city demanding jobs for unemployed youths. Indian Youth Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Brar had attended the protest meeting, which, incidentally, happened to be the first major political programme of the party after the panchayat poll debacle.

NSUI state president Itish Kumar Pradhan was the first to raise the mayor issue which later turned into a major controversy embarrassing the state government. Pradhan, who is currently facing more than a dozen police cases, was also arrested by police in April while trying to gatecrash into Naveen Nivas protesting against chief minister's limited knowledge of Odia.

"It is true that the youth and student members of the party have saved the blushes for the Congress in the state at a time when senior leaders are busy visiting Delhi for change in leadership. Our senior leaders should learn from the youths who have staged several demonstrations on major issues despite facing arrests," said a party leader.

Former state youth Congress president Sangram Jena, who has been backing the youth and student wings of the party, said both the wings had done a commendable job in the recent past. "Youths and students have an important role to play in contemporary politics and they need to be guided properly. We have been guiding them and they will continue to stage protests highlighting the failures of the state and Union governments," said Jena.