India, Sept. 3 -- Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged Congress leaders in Maharashtra to stop chasing senior party functionaries and instead reach out to people, build direct connections with them and understand their concerns, as he sought to strengthen the party's grassroots organisation in the state.

The Congress MP also attacked the central government's economic policies, saying that India had neglected farming despite its potential to make the country a superpower. He further argued that an excessive focus on trade rather than production was limiting job creation.

Gandhi was in Nashik to attend the concluding session of a 10-day residential training camp for 69 newly appointed Congress district...