JOIN USRahul attacked, shown black flags in Gujarat
Rahul Gandhi’s vehicle was attacked at Dhanera town of Banaskantha in north Gujarat, where the Congress leader was visiting flood-ravaged areas.
Unconfirmed reports suggested that one of his staff was injured in stone-pelting and the car’s rear windshield smashed.
Both the Congress and the BJP traded accusations over the incident, with Gujarat Health Minister Shankar Chaudhary saying the attack reflects anger among people in the region over the absence of Congress legislators.
“No one should resort to attacks, but there is anger among locals that six of the legislators from the Congress are holed up in Bengaluru,” Chaudhary said.
The Congress dubbed the incident the handiwork of a few “perverted” minds. “This is the failure of the BJP government and it shows frustration and arrogance,” Congress leader Himanshu Patel said. Rahul’s car came under attack as he was on his way to the helipad. Water pouches were also reportedly thrown at his cavalcade.
Banaskantha Superintendent of Police Neeraj Badgujar said the Congress vice president opted to travel in the party vehicle though he was provided a bulletproof car, which was also confirmed by Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel.
“He made unscheduled stops to meet people. An unknown person threw stones at his car when he was proceeding to the helipad,” Badgujar said, adding that no one was injured in the incident and a complaint has been registered.
Asked about the blood stains on the back of the car, he said it would be investigated once the complaint is registered.
Rahul was shown black flags when he addressed a gathering in Lal Chowk area in Dhanera town. “It hardly makes any difference to me,” the Congress leader said, but stormed out of the place when chants of ‘Modi, Modi’ got louder.
He flew down from Rajasthan for a tour of Banaskantha and Patan districts. Over 270 people are estimated to have died and 4.5 lakh are affected by the floods in the state, with 61 people perishing in Banaskantha alone. Rahul proceeded to visit Runi village close to Dhanera, where a few waved black flags as he began addressing the gathering.
“I welcome even those who were chanting names of Modi,” he later told the gathering. “We will not backtrack due to these black flags, Modi chants or stones.”
Rahul’s five-minute address focused on farmer’s issue and unemployment among the youth. “They want to work which has not happened,” he said.
Modi received support across the country as he talked of change, but anger is being spread so that people do not ask questions about employment or relief to farmers, Rahul said.
Earlier, in Jaipur, during his survey of flood-ravaged places in Rajasthan, Rahul said the Congress is trying to reach out to people hit by the catastrophe. He reached Sanchor village in Jalore by helicopter and toured the flood-hit areas by road. He distributed food packets to flood victims.
The Congress leader also spoke to those affected by floods at Devda and Hadecha in Sanchore tehsil. “People are yet to receive compensation from the state government and there are no signs of rehabilitation,” he told the villagers. “The state government should take this up on priority.”