By IANS,
New Delhi : To greet or not to greet non-Congress leaders is Sonia Gandhi’s new dilemma. The moment the powerful Congress president dials their number – however innocuous the reason – it sparks frenzied media speculation!
On Eid-ul-Fitr, Sonia had telephoned Kashmir’s opposition leader, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, and her father, former chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, to wish them “Eid mubarak”. But the moment news leaked out, some TV reporters saw in the greetings the first sign that the Congress was thinking of dumping Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Likewise, when Sonia rang up Lok Janashakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan to wish him on his 64th birthday July 5, speculation started flying thick and fast that Paswan was on the verge of being readmitted to the UPA fold. An embarrassed Paswan had to finally hustle up a press conference to deny the reports.