Sonia sidesteps sting,lauds Thakre,CM

In the same breath,she also called on the party to uphold the dignity of the Congress flag,which was the main theme of the rally.

Beware of those trying to divide us over religion and language, she told the Sadbhavana rally. The rally was part of the concluding ceremony of the Gram to Sevagram flag march organised by the Maharashtra unit of the Congress.

The Zenda Rally had suddenly become an embarrassment for the party after Thakre and Chaturvedi discussed the tough time they had raising funds for the rally after a press conference in Nagpur on October 11,apparently unaware that a TV channel camera was still recording while the cameraman is said to have stepped out.

Chavan said confusion was sought to be created yesterday that the rally wont possibly take place,but Soniaji said she would come to meet the partys followers.

A huge crowd waited for Sonia for hours despite Navratra Ashtami. She arrived two hours behind schedule as her plane suffered a technical snag in New Delhi and she had to wait for an alternative flight that came from Chandigarh.