Lok Sabha: Din over attack on Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress MPs protested vociferously in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday over the stone pelting on party vice-president Rahul Gandhi even as home minister Rajnath Singh hit back saying Mr Gandhi violated the security protocol laid down by Special Protection Guards’ (SPG) himself.

The Congress uproar prevented the Lower House from conducting regular proceedings with the first adjournment at 11:30am before being adjourned for the day at 12:20pm.

Stating that stone pelting either on politicians or security forces was not acceptable, the home minister said, “Rahul got down from the car in violation of the security protocol. He stopped at places where there was no pre-scheduled programme.”

On Friday, during Mr Gandhi’s tour of the flood-hit Dhanera town in Banaskantha, Gujarat, a crowd pelted stones on his car, slightly injuring a SPG personnel. The crowd was shouting pro-Narendra Modi slogans.

Describing Mr Gandhi as “anmol dharohar” (invaluable asset), Mr Singh said Mr Gandhi had refused to use a bulletproof vehicle in Gujarat where the incident took place, thus violating the security protocol, like many times earlier.

Reeling out figures, Mr Singh said in the last two years, Mr Gandhi carried out 121 planned and unplanned tours, and did not use the bulletproof car on hundred occasions as mandated by the SPG security protocol. In the last two years, the Congress leader has been out on six foreign visits for 72 days. He did not take along his SPG cover, Mr Singh added.

“Where did he go? He deliberately did not move with the SPG cover. It is violative of the SPG Act enacted by Parliament… What does he want to hide by not taking the SPG along, the nation and the House want to know,” Mr Singh said, alleging Rahul neglected his own security. Mr Singh said that the Gujarat CM also undertook a tour of the flooded areas.

“Why was there no protest against him? The Congress has to introspect. He (Rahul) was there on disaster tourism.”

Mr Singh’s statement came after Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge charged the Centre and the state government of failing to providing security to Mr Gandhi.

“It is said in Jammu and Kashmir, terrorists hurl stones. Which Jammu and Kashmir terrorist was in Gujarat? Or BJP workers became terrorists?” he said.

“Had the stone hit Rahul, he would have lost his life. There were attempts to kill him. He is son of a martyr, hence we are not afraid,” Mr Kharge said.

A case under various sections of the IPC has been lodged and the person (stone-thrower) is in judicial custody while the Gujarat chief minister has asked an additional director general of police to probe the incident, Mr Singh said.

The SPG is mandated to provide security to all former PMs and their immediate family members. When the House assembled again at 12 noon, Sudip Bandhopadhyay of TMC said the Lok Sabha should condemn the attack, which he termed as “condemnable” and “disgraceful”. “Such an attack is reflective of the intolerance in the society,” Mr Bandhopadhyay said.