Dhanera:

After protests from various quarters during his breif brief visit to flood affected Banaskantha district of Gujarat, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s car was also attacked with a stone in Dhanera today.

Former Gujarat Congress President Arjun Modhwadiya who was accompanying Rahul, said that the incident took place when they were moving towards the Helipad on the local airport after a meeting of the flood victims at Lal Chowk.

‘A local leader of youth BJP suddenly threw a big stone on the vehicle of Rahul ji, who was sitting on the front seat of his car beside the driver. Fortunately the stone hit the rear window and despite shattering of its glass no one was hurt in the incident. The target was Rahul ji. We have made a complaint with the SP and the Dy SP,’ he said.

Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki however, claimed that one SPG jawan sitting in Rahul Gandhi’s car got injured.

Senior Party leader Ahmed Patel said that the protest and stone pelting was done in connivance with the ruling BJP. ‘That is why no one has been arrested,’ he said.

Condemning the incident Deputy CM and senior BJP leader Nitin Patel said that attack on any leader can not be approved with. He however questioned as to why Gandhi was moving in a private vehicel while the state government has provided a bullet proof one for him. He however agreed that there was anger among local people owing to absence of Congress MLA’s.

Earlier Rahul Gandhi had to face opposition from local business and farmer community and also from some alleged BJP workers who showed him black flags during his brief visit to flood affected Banaskantha district of Gujarat.

Rahul Gandhi arrived Dhanera by Chopper at around 2 pm after visiting flood affected areas of Sirohi and Jalore districts of neighbouring Rajasthan. He went to Malotra village and had a meeting with the family members of Rawtabhai Prajapati who was washed away in floods.

Later when he reached the APMC yard in Dhanera which was almost completely submerged during the floods, local businessmen and farmers assembled there, started shouting the slogan of Modi-Modi and also showed black cloths and flags to Rahul. They said that they were satisfied with the government’s relief work and Rs 1500 crore special package and the visit of the Congress leader was nothing but a ‘show off’ and a joke of sorts with the flood victims.

They also said that at a time when local Congress MLA’s were enjoying at a resort in Bangalore, the Congress leaders’ visit looks like a joke with the victims.

Looking at the protest, Rahul hurriedly left the place in a few minutes. Later when he went to address a meeting of flood affected people at Lal Chowk in Dhanera city around a km away from the APMC, some people, allegedly BJP activists, tried to show him black flags again. Congress supporters reportedly beat some of them up and chased away. PI of Dhanera G L Chaudhari said that no body has been detained in the town for protests. Rahul in his address said that the measures taken by the government for relief in flood hit district were not adequate. He also said that he was not afraid of a few black flags.

Rahul, accompanied by state congress president Bharatsinh Solanki, in-charge Ashok Gehlot and other party leaders would also meet the flood affected people and party workers participating in relief and rescue work in the district, Later he would come to Ahmedabad at around 5 PM to board a flight to New Delhi.

Notably, six MLA’s from Banaskantha were part of over 40 kept at a luxurious resort near Bangalore. Ruling BJP has criticized them for not being with the affected people at the time of need. CM Rupani had camped in flood affected area for five days while PM Modi had visited it during heavy rains last month.