Brothers bond even as their mothers spar

New Delhi: Mothers Sonia Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi may not see eye to eye, but cousins Rahul and Varun Gandhi seem to bond rather well.

BJP Sultanpur candidate Varun Gandhi?s praise of his cousin Rahul, sitting Congress MP and candidate from Amethi, may have thrown the saffron camp into a tizzy, but despite being political rivals neither of them has ever spoken out against the other in public.

During his wedding in 2011, Varun himself had gone to invite aunt Sonia and the family. Though Varun Gandhi had attended cousin Priyanka Gandhi’s wedding in 1997, neither Mrs Gandhi nor any of her family members had turned up at his (Varun’s) wedding.

Varun had explained later that “Priyanka didi could not make it as she was unwell, and Rahul was nursing a fractured leg.” Maneka Gandhi had reportedly said, “All those who were supposed to come came.”

But when a personal tragedy struck and Varun’s 20-day-old daughter had died, both Rahul and Priyanka were at his side and turned up at his Jor Bagh residence. They were there to console Varun and his wife.

Back in 2009, there were reports that Varun, BJP MP from Pilibhit, had greeted his aunt Sonia with folded hands before taking the oath as a Lok Sabha member. It was observed that Maneka Gandhi had thumped the desk when Rahul Gandhi was sworn in as a member of the Lok Sabha from Amethi.