AICC 84th plenary session: Congress leaders, workers face mosquito menace

Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi tried her best to keep her hands under a shawl to escape mosquito bites, but when that failed her aide brought a mosquito repellent cream

Sound bite and mosquito bite

The Congress party held its 84th plenary session at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. The plenary ended on Sunday, but not before the Congress leaders and workers found themselves harassed by the ubiquitous mosquitoes in the stadium. Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi (pictured) tried her best to keep her hands under a shawl to escape mosquito bites, but when that failed her aide brought a mosquito repellent cream. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the stadium was sprayed with insecticide thrice, but to no avail. He blamed the government for the poor upkeep of the stadium, and wondered about the lot of the sportspersons who come to the stadium for their practice and to play matches.

Pride of place for Mayawati

Days after the surprise win of the Samajwadi Party in the Lok Sabha bypoll in Uttar Pradesh, one spotted a big hoarding outside the party headquarters that showed SP leader and former Chief Minister of the state Akhilesh Yadav (pictured) and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati together. The hoarding also had pictures of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and SP leader Azam Khan. Interestingly, the biggest image in the assortment was that of a smiling Mayawati. The message read, “Jeet ke liye Phulpur aur Gorakhpur ki janta ko dhanyavaad (thanks to the people of Phulpur and Gorakhpur for the win).”

The forgetful Indian

Riders in Bengaluru and the national capital region were more forgetful than their counterparts in cities like Manila, Melbourne, and Singapore in leaving behind items in their Uber cabs, according to the second edition of the Lost & Found Index by the US-based ride-hailing platform. India topped Uber’s list of most forgetful countries in the Asia Pacific region, with riders leaving behind not just their phones and bags but also things like prawns, LCD TV and their children’s bicycles. More riders reported lost items on weekends, and people were most likely to forget things between 5 am and 6 am and between 1 pm and 4 pm, showed the Uber index.