Without Rahul, lunch loses spice

AICC media cell chairperson Veerappa Moily8217;s lunch for the media and party office-bearers last week failed to tempt even his party colleagues. Last year, there was a shortage of chairs to accommodate the dignitaries, which included most of the Congress ministers, all AICC general secretaries, young MPs, and who8217;s who of the Congress8217;s power circuit. They had turned up well in advance and spent hours at the lunch, with leader Salman Khursheed staying till long after the plates and tables were removed. This year, however, only two Ministers of State, including V Narayanasami and Jitin Prasada, showed up at Moily8217;s lunch, while even office-bearers including some spokespersons chose to skip. Moily may be ruing the fact that the entire Nehru-Gandhi family was in Beijing when he hosted the lunch this year. No surprise this that what had made his lunch a great success last year was the presence of Rahul Gandhi.