Moves from table to table enquiring after the spouses and encouraging them to partake of the delicacies on offer.
Moves from table to table enquiring after the spouses and encouraging them to partake of the delicacies on offer
NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi virtually rolled out the red carpet at a dinner she hosted for party MPs and their spouses at her residence on Tuesday night. On the menu were succulent kebabs and aromatic biryani prepared by chefs specially brought in for the occasion from Lucknow and Rampur. Also on offer was Amritsari kulcha chana and some Kerala and West Bengal delicacies.
The dinner was held on the well-manicured lawns in the backyard of Sonia’s house, an honour hitherto reserved for her family and select close friends. The balmy evening and the tastefully-done décor added to the occasion. The Gandhi family was out in full strength, with even Priyanka making one of her rare appearances with husband Robert Vadra and their two children. Rahul initially stayed in the background chatting up his group of GenNext MPs but soon joined his mother in looking after the guests.
The Congress president hosts a dinner for party MPs and their spouses at least once a year. According to a senior party leader, the mood this year was different. In the past it used to be a stiff formal affair. But this time, the post-budget buoyancy reflected even at the dinner. Ordinary MPs and senior cabinet ministers mingled freely as they laughed and joked among themselves. Even the normally-taciturn prime minister Manmohan Singh seemed relaxed.
Sonia played host to the hilt, moving from table to table enquiring after the spouses and encouraging them to partake of the food on offer. She also spent some time chatting them up, complimenting a south Indian MP’s wife on her dress and sharing a joke with a back bencher on his high-decibel interventions in parliament.
j_ansari@dnaindia.net
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