Bhopal, Apr 13: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today paid a surprise visit to four villages of Mandla district in Madhya Pradesh to get a first hand experience of the development works carried out there during the last nine years of Congress rule. Gandhi visited Aroli, Kutwahi, Sargaon and Borachhapri villages by road and spent nearly three hours among the tribals, official sources here said.
She enquired about various schemes being implemented for the development of the villages and particularly about the schools, they said.

The Congress president expressed satisfaction over the pace of development in the villages.

The villages were shortlisted at random by Gandhi after obtaining the list of villages from the district collector Sanjay Shukla, sources said.
No officials, except a patwari, were allowed to accompany Gandhi during the visit and senior officials including the collector and superintendent of police were instructed by the chief minister Digvijay Singh to remain stationed at the rest house.

However, Singh and state Congress chief Radhakishan Malviya accompanied Sonia during her visit, sources added.
Bureau Report