Broken rear window pane of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's car which got smashed.
Credit: PTI Photo
An alleged “attack” on Rahul Gandhi’s car – when Congress Party’s Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra entered West Bengal’s Malda on Wednesday, was declared as false by the party’s spokesperson.
“False news needs clarification. A huge crowd had come to meet Rahul ji. When a woman suddenly came forward to meet him, the car had to be stopped. The windshield of the car was broken due to the rope used in the security circle,” Supriya Shrinate, Congress spokesperson wrote on X. “Rahulji is fighting the battle for justice diligently and this country not only stands with him but will also keep him safe,” she added.
Bengal Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, earlier, had said that a stone may have been pelted from behind in the crowd. He said a worse incident could happen due to negligence of police. Early media reports suggested that Gandhi’s car was subjected to stone-pelting, and “vandalised”
Talking of the alleged incident during her address at a public function, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated, “On my way to the meeting in the helicopter, I received a message. One Congress leader, let me name – Rahul, he is younger to me.”
“I enquired. We don’t like such things, we don’t indulge in these things. What’s the point of dramatising, for nothing… It didn’t happen in Bengal. It happened in Katihar, Kishanganj. They entered Bengal with a shattered glass. But I condemn the incident,” she said.
In Bihar, the BJP and Nitish Kumar have united, there could be anger, she said. “But here, there should be no incident. A party can take out a procession, and can hold meetings. Do it peacefully, I have no objection.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, said that minor incidents have happened, all along, and this will not deter the yatra, nor will it weaken the I.N.D.I.A bloc.
He added that the alliance is for the national elections, and is not for regions. Praising Banerjee, Ramesh added that an alliance is a two-way process. He mentioned that the Congress, and Banerjee, have a mutual objective of defeating the BJP.