Cuttack (Orissa), May 13: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has stuck to his efforts to attract tribal and Dalit youths of Orissa into the Congress fold.

Gandhi, who met a large number of tribal people and Dalits during his last trip to the State two months ago, spent long hours interacting with the tribal and Dalit youths at two separate conferences in the city on Tuesday.

The Congress leader spent several hours with the tribal and Dalit youth leaders who came from far off areas of the State to participate in two separate meetings.

Very few Congress leaders were allowed to enter the venue of the conferences when Gandhi talked to the young men and women from different tribal and Dalit communities in groups.

Talking to reporters later, Gandhi said it was necessary to bring the tribal and Dalit youths to the social mainstream.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi addressed a public meeting at the industrial town of Angul where thousands of people were present braving the heat wave condition.

The rally was organised by the Indian National Trade Union Congress and the local unit of the Congress to tank Gandhi and the UPA government for the recent conferment of Navratna status on National Aluminium Company (NALCO).

Addressing the meeting, Gandhi said NALCO had set an example of successful running of a public sector undertaking.

Referring to the people's opposition to various industrial projects in the State, Gandhi said the authorities should not ignore the voice of the people while facilitating implementation of any industrial project.

Gandhi, who had arrived in the State on Monday evening, returned to New Delhi after the Cuttack meetings. But his love for the tribals and Dalits had surely come as a cause of worry for the ruling Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in the State.