Narmadapuram (MP) | Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's late arrival at a Congress training camp in Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh by two minutes on Sunday earned him a 'punishment' of ten push-ups, a party leader said.

Congress leaders said Gandhi complied with the "ten push-ups punishment rule" set by AICC Training Department head Sachin Rao for participants if they arrived late at the camp underway under the Sangathan Srajan Abhiyan (SSA). The drive will end on November 11.

"This is nothing new or surprising for our leader, Rahulji, to do. In our camp, we follow the discipline strictly. There is a democracy in the party where all members are equal and treated as equals. There is no bossism in our party like in the BJP”, MP Congress media coordinator Abhinav Barolia told PTI while confirming the "push-up punishment".

Gandhi later flew to Bihar for campaigning, Barolia added.

When contacted, Rao said he didn't have the liberty to talk about what happened in the camp.

This was the second visit of the leader of the opposition to Madhya Pradesh in five months as part of an exercise to strengthen the party organisation.

The SSA was announced during the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Belagavi held in December last year. The drive was launched on June 3 this year from Bhopal.

"We have not been in power in Madhya Pradesh for a long time, and under Mission 2028, we are working toward forming the government in the state once again," a Congress leader said.