Sonia, Arjun give each other silent treatment

The UPA chairperson entered the venue as part of the convocation procession and walked up to the stage.

Singh, who takes the support of a walking stick, was not part of the procession, but walked in through a door that forms the VIP exit from the stage.

There was no exchange of greetings and no interaction between the two leaders throughout the two-hour-long ceremony.

University Vice-Chancellor S Ahmad occupied the seat between Gandhi and Singh.

Gandhi, however, made a special mention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying he has put his personal imprint on the initiatives to expand the infrastructure for higher education.

After stirring a hornet’s nest by criticising the decision-making process in the party, Singh on Friday took another potshot at the party leadership by lamenting that evaluation of loyalty was being done in a ‘very limited context’.

Singh had in an interview to noted journalist Kanhaiyalal Nandan in a book edited by him titled Mohin Kahan Vishram said the decision-making in the Congress has fallen in disarray.

Earlier, his statement that there was no harm in projecting Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate had received a snub from the party leadership, with the AICC saying Sonia and Rahul keep away from sycophancy.