Bhubaneswar: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today described Sasmita Rana, who died at Sishu Bhavan in Cuttack a day after his visit, as the bravest girl he ever met.
Expressing grief over the death of the little girl from Raitala village in Odisha's tribal dominated Keonjhar district, Rahul tweeted, saying: "Sasmita Rana, the bravest little girl I ever met, died at Sishu Bhavan in Cuttack. She remained proud and strong against all odds."
The little girl of about 7 years succumbed to aplastic anemia on Saturday, a day after meeting Rahul.
The Gandhi scion had come in contact with the girl during his visit to Sishu Bhavan in Cuttack on September 11. He went to Sishu Bhavan after being informed about the death of more than 60 infants in a span of 12 days last month.
"I saw the spirit... future of Odisha inside the hospital where a child was lying on bed and the mother was crying.
However, the child appeared disturbed not for her health condition but for her mother's plight. The child requested us to console the mother," Rahul said.
The girl requested Rahul to touch her hands and console her mother, hospital staff narrated to the media.
Meanwhile, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President Prasad Harichandan visited Sasmita's house in Keonjhar district on Sunday and met her mother.