Congress acts on hoardings depicting Sonia Gandhi as ill

The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Wednesday issued notices to its office bearers in Allahabad for putting up hoardings depicting Congress president Sonia Gandhi as "beemar" (ill).

The hoardings also urged Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to contest from Phoolpur parliamentary constituency, once represented by the late prime minister Jawahar lal Nehru. Confirming that show cause notices have been issued to district secretary Haseeb Ahmad and party leader Shreesh Chandra Dubey, a senior party leader told IANS that the "party cracked the whip as the hoardings depicted Congress president in bad light and had unnecessarily dragged Priyanka into political space".

After going through their responses, the party state unit will decide to act upon them, the leader said. The hoardings that came up in the posh Civil lines area Tuesday showed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Sonia Gandhi along with a text written on the top which says in form of a couplet -- "Maiya ab Rahti Beemar, Bhaiya par badh gaya bhaar, Priyanka Phoolpur se bano ummedwaar, party ka karo prachaar, Congress ki sarkaar banao teesri baar (Mother is often ill now, brother (Rahul Gandhi) is over burdened, Priyanka become the candidate from Phoolpur and campaign for the party, help Congress make its government for the third time).

The district Congress committee had earlier this week brainstormed on the probable candidates for the parliamentary constituencies in and around Allahabad where demands to make Priyanka a candidate were also raised. Name of former Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president and currently a legislator from lucknow, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, was also considered for the seat of Allahabad. Earlier, Joshi has held the office of Allahabad Mayor.