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| Sonia's date with dosa and spilled water | | |
NEW DELHI:
It was Sonia Gandhi's wish to have a dosa in parliament's Central Hall that sent two Congress MPs falling over each other to fetch the snack for the party president from the canteen. And when she accidentally spilled a glass of water, an MP got a chance to prove his loyalty by wiping the wet table.
When Gandhi, who otherwise does not mingle with other MPs too often, obliged to a request from some women MPs to join them for coffee at the Central Hall Thursday, some Congress MPs as well as journalists there made the best of use of the opportunity to chat with her.
Margaret Alva, senior Congress leader, proposed that Gandhi should taste the dosa made at the parliament's Railway Canteen. Upon Sonia saying 'yes', two Congress MPs - one from Haryana and the other from Tamil Nadu - jumped up with alacrity to fulfil their leader's wish.
But the dosa took more than half-an-hour to be made as it was not yet snack time. The media persons, who were chatting with the Congress president, saw the duo pacing restlessly in the hall waiting for the dosa to be served.
When finally the dosa was brought, Sonia had a small bite and put the plate on a table behind her. In the process, she accidentally spilled a glass of water on the table in front of her. She immediately apologised for the mess.
But this galvanised the Haryana MP into action. He scurried forward with paper napkins and started wiping the water off.
During her wait for the dosa to arrive, Sonia inquired about the state of the facilities for women MPs in parliament. The women MPs there complained of the pathetic condition of the toilets and the hassles they had to go through during security checks.
Two Left women MPs took the opportunity to press for the pending Women's Reservation Bill. "But there is no consensus," said Sonia Gandhi in reply, adding that the situation had improved in the recent days with more consensus for the bill and she was hopeful it would come up soon.
But Gandhi was very firm with journalists. "No recording, no note taking," she told them at least half-a-dozen times.
"No political questions too," she said. When a media person tried to raise a political question she stood up and said sternly, "If that is the case, then I am going."
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