In a clear bid to avoid any controversy, the Congress acted fast on the issue of a calendar in the Moradabad party office in western Uttar Pradesh depicting Sonia Gandhi as Goddress Durga, sacking the district Congress chief from his post on Friday and instituting an inquiry to find out who were behind it.
Gandhi has directed the state Congress to inquire into the matter and identify whoever was responsible for the act and take immediate action to expel them from the party “if they are Congressmen”, AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.
“In case the person / persons involved do not belong to the Congress, steps should be taken to initiate legal proceedings against the perpetrators,” he said in a statement, adding that Moradabad DCC president Ajay Saraswat Soni had been “relieved” of his post with immediate effect. He said Gandhi strongly condemned the appearance of a poster depicting her as a goddess.
A painting portraying Gandhi as Durga in the party office in Moradabad caught everybody by surprise.   Soni termed the poster as a “work of art” created by a painter who hung the “sample piece” from the wall. The painter had also asked party workers to contact him for more such paintings, if required.