Rahul road show runs into trouble

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's road show in Kanpur on Monday landed in trouble after the district administration lodged a case against the Gandhi scion and 40 others with the Kanpur Cantonment police station, for allegedly violating the model code of conduct.

According to the sources here, the organisers of the road show have been booked for  changing the stipulated route and entering areas for which permission had been refused by the administration.

Sources said the organisers had sought permission for covering a distance of 30 kms in all the seven Assembly constituencies in the city. The authorities had restricted it to a 20 kms affair in four constituencies.

But the road show flouted all recommendations. “Section 144 was in force in the areas, where the road show was held...the route had been changed owing to the festival of Mahashivratri and movement of central forces from the fourth phase polling areas to the fifth phase areas,” District Magistrate Hari Om said.

Union minister and Congress MP from Kanpur, Sriprakash Jaiswal, however, charged the district administration of working on behest of the state government.

“The route was changed on the instruction of the government,” Jaiswal said, adding that the party would register a complaint against the district administration with the Election Commission.

Meanwhile, Ulema Council members continued their tirade against Gandhi as they waved black flags at the him to protest the Batla House encounter. They had earlier done the same at Azamgarh few weeks back.