Rahul Gandhi makes an unscheduled speech at the AICC session

New Delhi: Ashok Chavan was present. So was Suresh Kalmadi. Both men face charges of profuse corruption - over a land scam in Maharashtra, and the Commonwealth Games, respectively. Yet, the top leaders who addressed the All India Congress Committee today made no direct reference to either case - or to corruption in general.

The nearest that the Congress came to confronting the issue was this statement by Sonia Gandhi: "I urge you to stick to principles of restraint, simplicity and integrity." (Read: My job is a tough one, says Sonia) | (Watch)

Today's session focused on selecting Team Sonia - the new Congress Working Committee, the 25-member policy-forming group of the Congress.

And on attacking the Opposition. "The recent revelations have proved RSS links to the Ajmer blasts," said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar has been mentioned in the CBI's chargesheet for the Ajmer blasts of 2007. Both the RSS and Kumar have said he is being framed. (Read: Sonia Gandhi's speech at the AICC meet) |  (Watch)

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Rahul Gandhi was not scheduled to address the AICC. But a chorus of requests saw him making an impromptu appeal to keep the focus on the aam aadmi. "There are 2 Indias - one that is prosperous, and one that is impoverished," he said. "The Congress has to bridge this divide." Cheers and applause followed.

The mood was considerably more somber when Sonia Gandhi warned that reorganization could see people being dropped from the Working Committee - "Nominating CWC is a very difficult job. Somebody will complain to say I was left out, why others have been made. Somewhere someone will be left out. Now when you have put trust in me, some of you should be prepared to bear the loss," Gandhi said.

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When asked later about the elephant in the room, party leader Digvijaya Singh said, "Corruption is not an issue that has to be reminded by everyone... there is a probe going on in the Commonwealth Games... raids have taken place. In the Adarsh Society case, action will be taken after due diligence." (The Adarsh Society scam in pics)

That is unlikely to be an acceptable explanation in Parliament which begins next week - the BJP has already said it will wield the corruption issue in its charge against the government. (Watch) | (Read: Congress attacks RSS for involvement in terror)

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