Cong leaders shaken by Sonia’s illness

Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s sudden and unexpected illness sent all the top party leaders into a tizzy. What surprised everyone was her admission to ICCU at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad took charge of the situation and supervised all arrangements and necessary tests to be conducted on her. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was among the first to arrive, followed by Congress top-brass, besides Priyanka and Robert Vadra. Celebrations over the unanimous passage of Food Security Bill, as desired by Sonia, lacked the spark, as it was dampened by her illness.

A frail-looking Sonia Gandhi’s speech in the afternoon on her pet project of Food Security Bill earlier in the day in the Lok Sabha gave away signs, as her hands had slight trembling. As she tried to sit through the debate to take part in voting, she felt uneasy and suddenly she got up and started walking out, without even picking up her handbag. Noticing it, Union Minister Kumari Selja sprinted towards Sonia’s seat, picked up the handbag and rushed back to be by the side of Sonia, who was soon joined by Rahul Gandhi. At the exit, Sonia nearly tripped and clutched to Kumari Selja, a visual captured by the media that had moved even the Opposition. Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj was the earliest to tweet, wishing Sonia a speedy recovery.