Congress suspends 2 Uttar Pradesh leaders for depicting Sonia Gandhi as ill

"UPCC president Nirmal Khatri has directed the district unit of Allahabad to suspend secretary Haseeb Ahmed and Srishchand Dubey, on whose names the hoardings were set up in the busy Civil Lines area of Allahabad," UPCC spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi told PTI.

"Some outsiders are getting these things done into the party and are depicting party chief Sonia Gandhi as unwell and the party has taken a strong note of it," he said, adding, that if required a case would also be lodged against them.

Tripathi said Sonia Gandhi is ably looking after party affairs and leading it but some people are out to damage her and party's image. According to party sources, hoardings on the same lines had come up in Allahabad during the Assembly elections but it was ignored.

The hoardings that came up in Allahabad declared Sonia Gandhi as unwell, Rahul Gandhi as overburdened, and urged Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to contest from the constituency of Phoolpur and help the party return to power for a third time.

Late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru once represented the Phoolpur constituency. The hoarding also carried pictures of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi besides that of the two suspended leaders.