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Amid the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was left momentarily surprised even as a man breached security to approach him.
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The unidentified man hugged and kissed Rahul on the shoulder, before being pushed aside by security.
The incident took place when the Congress leader was riding a motorcycle in Bihar’s Purnea district. Rahul then left for adjoining Araria district, his final stop for the day as part of the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’.
The man, who was dressed in dark trousers and a shirt, ran towards Rahul even as he rode with hundreds of bikers during the Yatra, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav.
Rahul stopped his bike even as the man approached him, but remained unfazed and continued driving, with security personnel slapping and shoving the man aside.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was being escorted by a Close Protection Team, Purnea SP Sweety Sehrawat told PTI, adding that the personnel had handled the situation. The SP added that if the CPT flagged any further concerns, the person concerned would be tracked down and necessary action would be taken.
The 1,300-kilometre yatra in Bihar was launched on August 17 from Sasaram, and will cover more than 20 districts over 16 days. It will conclude in Patna on September 1. The yatra has been launched as part of a protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
After reaching Araria, Rahul and Tejashwi addressed a joint press conference along with other leaders of the INDIA bloc. Rahul targeted the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the BJP on Sunday, while alleging that the SIR was an “institutionalised way” of stealing votes.
“In Bihar, SIR is an institutionalised way for vote theft,” Rahul said, claiming that “lakhs of voters’ names” had been removed. The Congress leader said that while the Opposition was complaining, the BJP hadn’t raised concerns “because there is a partnership between ECI, the election commissioner and the BJP.”
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