Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed the attack on his convoy in Gujarat was carried out by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Gandhi’s car was pelted with stones on Friday when he had visited Dhanera town to meet victims of the floods.
“A BJP worker threw a big stone in my direction, it hit my personal security officer,” Gandhi said while addressing reporters. “It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and the RSS’ way of doing politics.”
When asked why the prime minister had not condemned the incident yet, Gandhi said, “It is done by their people so why would they condemn it.”
Some had also alleged that BJP supporters hurled a cement brick at Gandhi’s car. The rear left window of the car was broken. The Congress leader was shown black flags when he had visited the Agricultural Produce Market Committee. He was forced to cut short his visit to Dhanera.
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said it was a “pre-planned conspiracy”. “It is a murderous attack by the BJP and the RSS,” he said.
The Banaskantha police, however, said Gandhi had refused to take a bullet-proof car and had not followed security protocol. “Police had provided all the security, but he was repeatedly stopping the car, even at some sensitive places,” Neeraj Badgujar, superintendent of police, Banaskantha, told PTI. “He even met unknown people on the way.”
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