Congress flag falls from post as Sonia Gandhi tries to unfurl it

The Congress president was visibly upset at the faux pas and was seen enquiring a party worker conducting the proceedings

Shemin Joy, DHNS, New Delhi,

Dec 28 2021, 13:26 ist
updated: Dec 28 2021, 15:42 ist

Incidentally, Congress managers had put up a higher steel flagpole instead of a shorter one usually seen at the party headquarters. Credit: ANI Screengrab

In a faux pas that left Sonia Gandhi fuming, the Congress flag fell off the flagpole on Tuesday when the Congress president unfurled it to mark the party's 137th Foundation Day at the party headquarters in New Delhi.

The unfurling of the flag had to be repeated minutes later after a Congress worker fixed the problem on the flagpole even as leaders tried to play it down. Alhough Sonia made her displeasure known.

Also read: No compromise on divisive ideologies anchored in hate and prejudice: Sonia Gandhi

The incident took place in the presence of senior leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, AK Antony, Mallikarjun Kharge and Anand Sharma among others who had gathered at the Congress headquarters on Akbar Road for the function.

Sonia first unfurled the flag but it fell off the flagpole. Immediately, Sonia, Congress treasurer Pawan Bansal and Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal held it in their hands and displayed it.

She then returned to the office while some Seva Dal workers attempted to string the flag from the pole. After around 15 minutes and several attempts, one of them managed to fix it.

Sonia then returned to the courtyard and once again unfurled the flag but only after enquiring from a party worker whether the flag was properly fixed.

While a senior leader said Sonia expressed displeasure at the incident and asked those in charge of the function to be more careful, Venugopal said that there was no need to make the incident a talking point as these kinds of small incidents happen in normal life.