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Patnaik tells Sonia to let BJP hang itself

Orissa Chief Minister J B Patnaik has suggested to Congress president Sonia Gandhi that the party ''should not be in a hurry'' to pull down the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre, and instead ''give it a long enough rope to hang itself''.

Patnaik, who met Sonia at her home earlier in the day, said on Wednesday night that they discussed various issues, including ''ways to rejuvenate the party''.

The Orissa chief minister said he had also apprised the party chief of the political situation in the state. The Congress had won all three seats in last week's biennial Rajya Sabha election from Orissa.

Patnaik's meeting with Sonia assumes significance in the background of the ongoing attempts by certain parties to dislodge the Vajpayee government and form an alternative coalition.

UNI

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