By IANS
Raipur : Hundreds of supporters of former union minister Vidya Charan Shukla, waiting to receive him at the Raipur airport Thursday went berserk, broke the security ring at the airport and swarmed the runaway as soon as the aircraft carrying the 79-year-old political leader landed here.
This was Shukla’s first visit to the city after he rejoined the Congress last month.
He was returning on a Congress banner after a gap of three years. He left the Congress party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just before the 2004 general elections.
Hundreds of supporters from across the state who thronged at the airport to receive him broke the security barriers set up by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and ran towards the runway as soon as the Indian Airlines flight, on which he was travelling, landed at the airport here in the afternoon.
Later, a welcome procession organised by his supporters took him through the main city, culminating in a function at the Congress headquarter here.
However, a majority of the MLAs known to be close to the former chief minister Ajit Jogi stayed away.
Heavy police security was deployed on the roads to avoid any clashes between supporters and opponents of Shukla.