Rahul stopped from visiting shrine; Morigaon meet banned

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi – travelling through Assam’s Morigaon district as part of his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ – has been stopped from holding a street corning meet and a padyatra, or foot march.

The District Magistrate’s office cited “intelligence inputs” that claimed a threat to “peace and tranquility” to deny Rahul Gandhi permission for his events on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headlining the controversial ‘pran pratishtha’ of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, over 1,200 km away.

District officials claimed “… miscreants may indulge in anti-social activities by taking advantage of two major events on the same day”, referring to Gandhi’s yatra in Assam and the event in Uttar Pradesh.

“With deepest concern for the safety and security of Rahul Gandhiji… along with our responsibility to avert any possible law and order disruption… we would like you to refrain from holding the proposed street corner meeting… we would like to request you to not stop his vehicle during the roadshow…”

Denial of permission to Gandhi and the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ comes shortly after he alleged state authorities had barred him from visiting the Batadrava Satra Temple in Nagaon district.

On Sunday Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged Gandhi to reconsider his yatra route, claiming concerns over (unspecified) clashes with the Ram Temple consecration ceremony.