Myth MagicEven a reference to Sharad Pawar was anathema to the proceedings. When former MPCC chief Raghunath Deshmukh referred, in his speech, to Pawar as his former mentor, delegates stood up and hooted him down. They refused to be calmed down, even when Sonia admonished them. Finally, it took party secretary and master of ceremonies Janardhan Dwivedi to drive home the point in more earthy language: ``Jaise ki Ram ki kahani bina Ravana ke puri nahin hoti aur Krishna ki kahani Kansa ke bina adhuri hai, vaise hi Congress party ki kahani bina Pawar jaise gaddaron ke puri nahin hogi''. Obviously, to hearty applause.Slogans, pleaseSince this was a special session, rules could be waived. And that better (or worse) rule to waive than that banning slogan-shouting? So you had one speaker after another saying, ``Uthe karoron hath hain, Soniaji ke saath hain'' (Crores of hands have risen in support of Sonia); others, more mundane, compared Sonia to the sun and the moon.The longwaitThe large number of supporters mobilised by PCCs of Delhi and neighbouring states ensured that all entry points to Talkatora stadium were choked. This was also why Sonia reached the venue only one and a half hours after the session's scheduled start. While delegates waited patiently for their leader, Congress leaders on the dais took great pains to explain her delay. ``Soniaji had wanted to walk the distance from where vehicles could no longer get through but her security advisors insisted that she reach the venue in her bullet-proof car. That's why the agonising delay,'' they announced.False moveA sudden silence descended on the delegates when Sonia abruptly got up midway through the session and left the dais. Even those on the dais appeared to be caught by surprise and senior leaders Pranab Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh could be seen consulting each other. However, she soon returned, much to everyone's relief. She had, it turned out, gone to freshen up.Entry for allTheone thing in plenty at the session, apart from the large number of supporters, was entry passes. Photostat machines, it seems, had worked all night as most supporters who were not AICC members could be seen armed with sharp copies of Press or delegate passes.Suicide threatSome charged-up party workers had threatened drastic action if Sonia refused to withdraw her resignation by the AICC session. Calling themselves the Lal Bahadur Shastri Brigade from Ujjain, they wrote an open letter to Sonia saying that if she did not withdraw her resignation, they would commit mass suicide by consuming potassium cyanide.Long wait-IISo tight were the security arrangements at the Talkatora stadium that many senior Congress leaders had a tough time reaching the venue. Sonia loyalist Arjun Singh could be seen being jostled by security personnel and party supporters; CWC member Vijayabhaskara Reddy was initially refused entry and had to sweat it out in the sun for some time.
