Man attempts to hug Rahul Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Yatra in Punjab's Hoshiarpur
Hoshiarpur (Pb) (PTI): A man rushed towards Rahul Gandhi and tried to hug him during the Bharat Jodo yatra here on Tuesday but was pushed away by Congress leaders accompanying him.
However, police said it was not a breach of security.
In a video of the incident, the man wearing a jacket could be seen rushing towards the Congress MP and trying to embrace him. However, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and other party workers accompanying Gandhi stopped him and pushed him away.
The Congress had last month written to Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging "security breaches" during the Yatra in the national capital and demanded immediate steps to ensure the security of Gandhi and others taking part in the yatra.
Dismissing the allegations, the government had said "full" security arrangements were made for Gandhi in accordance with laid-down guidelines but he himself "violated" security protocols 113 times since 2020.
The Yatra resumed from Tanda here Tuesday morning as part of its Punjab leg, amid biting cold conditions.The march will halt for the night at Mukerian.
The march, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, will conclude in Srinagar by January 30, with Gandhi hoisting the national flag in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
It has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
On Saturday, the march was suspended for 24 hours in view of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary death. The MP had suffered a cardiac arrest during the yatra. The march had resumed on Sunday afternoon in Jalandhar.
The Punjab leg of the march began on Wednesday from Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib. The yatra took a break on Friday in view of Lohri festival.
#WATCH | Punjab: A man tried to hug Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, during Bharat Jodo Yatra in Hoshiarpur, was later pulled away by workers.
— ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2023
(Source: Congress social media) pic.twitter.com/aybyojZ1ps
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PM must resign when TMC wins Bengal: Derek O'Brien
Kolkata (PTI): Trinamool Congress's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien on Wednesday expressed confidence that his party will come back to power in the state after the assembly elections and challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resign when the results come.
In a video shared on microblogging site X, O'Brien accused the prime minister of making exaggerated political claims and urged him to "accept the challenge" instead of indulging in "big talk."
"Narendra, you had announced that you are the candidate on all 294 seats in West Bengal. Leave out the big talk and accept this challenge..." O'Brien wrote.
He asserted that if the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC wins the state, the prime minister should step down from his post. "When Mamata Banerjee and TMC win West Bengal, you will resign from your post as the prime minister," he said.
The remarks come amidst an intensifying political contest in West Bengal, where the ruling TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party are engaged in a high-stakes electoral battle.
Polling is taking place in 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the assembly elections on Wednesday, amid unprecedented security arrangements and a high-intensity contest that could decide whether the ruling TMC retains its dominance over the southern districts or the BJP can force open the gates of power in the state.
