By IANS,
Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh) : Congress general secretary and Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi shared fish curry and rice Friday afternoon with this district’s villagers, but he had to leave without visiting the town’s Takiya locality where one person had died in communal violence.
The district administration and the police made elaborate arrangements to prevent Gandhi from entering the Takiya locality.
The convoy of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath, was allegedly attacked Sunday in Muslim-dominated Takiya locality of Azamgarh and one person was killed in the arson and communal violence that followed.
Abhimanyu Singh, then deputy inspector general (Azamgarh range), and Vijay Kumar Garg, Azamgarh senior police superintendent, have been suspended for the incident. The Congress has called the incident a gimmick of Adityanath to whip up communal passions.
A posse of police personnel and paramilitary forces were deployed in Mahula locality near Takiya, to prevent Gandhi from entering the area.
“A few battalions of the Provincial Armed Constabulary, headed by the additional superintendent of police, have been deployed and barricading has also been done on the road to prevent Gandhi from entering the area,” a police official told IANS, requesting anonymity.
Gandhi, after meeting the patients of Japanese Encephalitis in the BRD hospital in Gorakhpur early Friday left for Azamgarh.
His convoy stopped in the Kaudiram locality of Gorakhpur around 11.30 a.m. at a government high school where Gandhi interacted with the students.
However, the Special Protection Group (SPG), responsible for his security, prevented the media from being present at any of his public interactions.
Gandhi’s first halt in Azamgarh was in Hazipur Chakki village, where he shared lunch with villagers.
“We had prepared fish curry and rice. He (Gandhi) complimented us for the nice preparation,” said Bhagelu, a villager.
After the police and district officials prevented him from entering Takiya localty, Gandhi took a chartered flight out of Azamgarh.