The Congress legislature Party (ClP) led by its leader Narasingha Mishra on Saturday met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at his residence in New Delhi to discuss various issues, including the ongoing Mahanadi water row and malnutrition deaths, in Odisha.
Talking to mediapersons after the meeting, AICC leader and Odisha in-charge BK Hariprasad said the Congress MlAs in his presence discussed the dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over the sharing of Mahanadi water.
"The ClP leader briefed Rahul Gandhi about the Mahanadi issue and the follow-up action taken by the Odisha Government so far. In his reply, Rahul said it is the duty of the Prime Minister to call the Chief Ministers of both States to resolve the issue," Hariprasad said.
To a question on the issue of malnutrition in the State, Hariprasad said Odisha ranks as number one State in the country on malnutrition. "Though several children have died at Nagada village in Jajpur district and several villages in Malkangiri district, the State Government has not taken any concrete steps in this regard till date," he alleged.
He, however, said no discussion was held on the ensuing panchayat elections in Odisha. "The party will have a meeting in this regard in Bhubaneswar and not in Delhi," he pointed out.
Notably, the ClP members had earlier taken up the Mahanadi issue with President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi and sought his intervention to resolve the issue.