Sonia charms City Congressmen

She later mingled with the party rank and file during the lunch session and readily posed for pictures with Congressmen, who jostled with each other to get into the frame, much to the discomfort of her alert SPG securitymen.

Clad in a green saree and a fawn shawl, Sonia was followed by the partymen everywhere in the lawns. By the time she decided to share a meal with her supporters, the organisers had run out of plates. This did not deter her, though, and she poured herself some rice, roti and dal in a “quarter plate” and ate it with some women activists of the party.

The Punjabi hospitality was clearly evident when the party workers offered her makki-ki-roti and sarson da saag. Exclaimed she: "Punjabi khaana mujhe bahut achha lagta hai (I really relish Punjabi food) in chaste though anglicised Hindi. Sonia, however, declined the salad and pudding.

However, her visit to the City was not without goof-ups. Many Congressmen complained that they had difficulty entering the UT Guest House, since the SPG had sealed all the entrances and permitted only those whose names had been given in advance.

Many media-persons also had to wait at the guest house gate before they were allowed to enter, though she gave them only a couple of minutes in the end and answered very few questions.

Many senior Congressmen, including former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and some former Punjab ministers had to walk down the 100 metre passage from the gate to meet her after being thoroughly searched by the SPG since neither cars nor mobile phones were allowed inside the building premises.

Sonia was earlier received at the airport by a large number of Congressmen including Chandigarh Congress chief Venod Sharma, Haryana Congress president Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh. The Indian Youth Congress President Manish Tewari was also present on the occasion.

During her meeting with the UT Congress, Sonia said that politicians should serve the people and not their own selfish interests.

City Congress chief Venod Sharma told her that the Congress party would soon improve its position and wrest the City mayor’s seat which was falling vacant this month. Reposing faith in her, Sharma also said that the local unit of the Congress would further strengthen its position under her leadership. The City unit was also addressed by Congress General Secretary Meira Kumar and former Chandigarh Congress president Pawan Kumar Bansal.