Mulayam meets Sonia for a tête-à-tête at Amausi Airport

At 4.30 pm, Congress president Sonia Gandhi arrived at the airport after a two-day tour of her constituency Rae Bareli. About 10 minutes later, Mulayam Singh, who was scheduled to board a flight, reached the airport. “When Mulayam Singh was told about Gandhi’s presence in the VIP lounge, he immediately rushed to meet her,” a source in the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee said.

According to the source, Sonia was accompanied by her close associates like K L Sharma, her representative in Rae Bareli, Rajendra Matto and one Dhiraj. “When Mulayam Singh arrived, these persons immediately left the place,” the source added.

Senior Congress leader Mohsina Kidwai who

landed at the airport in the meantime also came to

meet Sonia Gandhi. “However, she only wished Gandhi and left the place once she saw Yadav,” the source further disclosed.

The talks between the Congress and the SP over seat-sharing agreement for the Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh are not proceeding smoothly. The SP is peeved over the Congress’ demand of contesting over 30 parliamentary seats during the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi chaired the meeting of the Rae Bareli district vigilance and monitoring committee. She received several suggestions regarding the proper implementation of her dream projects likes National Rural Employment Guarantee Schemes (NREGS) and the Micro Financing System for the upliftment of women under the Self Help Group project. She sought suggestions on how people’s representatives could be associated with the NREGS to ensure its successful implementation. “One suggestion was that those who deliberately managed to get their names enlisted under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category should face criminal charges. Though such people are above the BPL, they get undue advantage of the scheme,” a source added.