Congress workers turn up in large numbers at 10 Janpath

Congress workers turned up in large numbers at 10 Janpath residence of party president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi Friday and extended full support to her, a day after she resigned from Lok Sabha and as chairperson of the National Advisory Council.

• Sonia Gandhi Resigns

Led by Congress member of Parliament Sajjan Kumar and Delhi legislator Mukesh Sharma, hundreds of party workers shouted pro-Sonia and anti-Bharatiya Janata Party slogans urging the party chief to take back her resignation.

Congress supporters, including women and children, carrying Congress flags started gathering outside Sonia's residence since early Friday morning.

Security personnel have been deployed in large numbers to ensure the situation remains peaceful.

Soon after Sonia resigned, party activists and leaders began arriving at her residence in large numbers, urging her to take back her resignation.

Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said Sonia, who was meeting party leaders and workers at her residence, appeared to be in a cheerful mood.

Senior party leader and Union Minister of State for Finance P K Bansal said, "Sonia's resignation has silenced those who were attacking her and the Congress party on the office of profit issue."

Criticising BJP, he said, "The opposition party, having no issue left, has raked up this controversy out of nothing."

The office of profit act has to be clearly defined as there are grey areas. "I as an MP draw a salary and as a minister also I shall be remunerated, but that does not come under the office of profit. These are grey areas and the act needs to be clearly defined."

On whether other Congress leaders who occupy office of profit should take a cue from Sonia and step down, he said, "It is a personal decision. It is upto those leaders to decide."

Sonia'ss resignation was "not a moral issue, rather a technical and legal problem. It is not that she has committed a mistake."

On Jaya Bachchan's disqualification from Rajya Sabha, he said, "It was a member of Congress and not the party which had sought her disqualification."