Man attempts to hug Rahul Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Yatra in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur

PTI, Jan 17, 2023, 12:13 PM IST

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.