At AICC meet, Priyanka seated away from Rahul

New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS) Newly appointed AICC General Secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi, was on Thursday allotted a seat away from Congress President Rahul Gandhi during an important party meet here.

Priyanka was given a seat next to Jyotiraditya Scindia, General Secretary in charge of western Uttar Pradesh, in the middle of the right side row.

Rahul Gandhi, K.C. Venugopal, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge were seated on the front.

Political observers say Priyanka was deliberately not seated next to Rahul but away from him to give a message to senior party leaders that as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Secretaries, they are as important as Priyanka Gandhi who is also a General Secretary.

Earlier, soon after her appointment at the General Secretary, Priyanka was allotted a room next to that of Rahul Gandhi's at the AICC headquarters. The room was earlier used by Rahul when he was the party Vice President.

However, Jyotiraditya Scindia was also allotted an office in the same room, in a way to show that as Uttar Pradesh in-charges, both he and Priyanka are on the same pedestal.

In another gesture, when Rahul Gandhi arrived from the meet, the SPG personnel tried to hold an umbrella over Rahul as it was raining, but he ignored it and walked in the rain to show respect towards hundreds of party workers who had gathered here to greet him and Priyanka.

Rahul is holding a meeting with all the AICC General Secretaries in charge of all the states in preparation of the coming Lok Sabha polls.