This is Modi and RSS way of politics: Rahul Gandhi on convoy attack

"Won't step back because of black flags, Narendra Modi slogans or stones," he had said on Friday.

Congress VP Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: After voting in Vice-Presidential election on Saturday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP for throwing a stone at him yesterday. “A BJP worker threw a big stone in my direction. It hit by PSO (Personal Security Officer). It’s the Modi, BJP and RSS’ kind of politics. Why more can I say…. Why would they condemn it when they are behind it,” Gandhi told reporters. Concrete chunks flew from a crowd chanting "Modi, Modi" and smashed into Rahul Gandhi's car in Gujarat on Friday but the ruling BJP virtually defended the stone-throwers and took exception to them being called "goons". The mortar missiles shattered the rear windowpanes of the car in which Rahul, who was visiting flood-affected villagers in the Prime Minister's home state, was travelling when the convoy was passing through Dhanel in Banaskantha district. The Congress leader was unhurt but an SPG personnel suffered injuries. Rahul told people minutes after the incident: "I came to feel your pain. They showed black flags and threw stones at me. I got down and walked towards them. Socha dekhta hoon kitna dum hai (Thought I would see how much they had it in them). They were eight to 10 people carrying stones. But as I approached them, they ran away." PTI quoted superintendent of police Neeraj Badgujar as saying a man threw a stone and he had been detained. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the wave of condemnation against the attack but the response from the BJP was unparalleled. "The perpetual tourist Rahul Gandhi came to Gujarat but the people of Gujarat are asking - where are our (Congress) MLAs in this crucial time? Instead of another photo-op, it would have been better had Rahul and Congress devoted time to proper relief work in flooded areas," Gujarat chief minister and BJP leader Vijay Rupani tweeted. "People of Gujarat know the tricks of the Congress too well. Their anti-people, anti-Gujarat mindset is not a secret," Rupani added. Senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil responded through a tweet: "This is the first time a head of the state stoops this low and backs stone-pelters instead of taking action against the accused. Rupaniji, you are head of the state, not an RSS puppet." (Photographs uploaded by the Congress on its Twitter account show Rahul Gandhi interacting with flood-affected villagers in Banaskantha district, 200km from Gandhinagar, in Gujarat on Friday, a stone allegedly thrown at the car in which he was travelling and the damage caused to the vehicle) An hour after his first tweet on the issue, the Gujarat chief minister changed his tune in a new post: "I condemn the unfortunate attack on Rahul Gandhi's convoy. I have instructed officers to take strict action against those responsible." Deputy chief minister Nitinbhai Patel seemed to blame Rahul for not taking bullet-proof vehicle, implying that such a shield would have stopped the stones. "We are working but Congress MLAs of the area are at resort in Bengaluru, maybe it was protest against it. Like every visiting leader, Rahul Gandhi was offered a bullet-proof car by state government but he chose to travel by a normal vehicle." The theme was replayed in Delhi. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said: "For God's sake, don't call people goons. Don't call the public of this country rowdy elements, people who are suffering from floods, people who are tired of this kind of politics that Rahul Gandhi and his party are doing. Let's respect people's emotions." Patra's approach was remarkably different from the way young stone-throwers were treated in Kashmir by the BJP-partnered administration. Patra also linked the stone-hurling to the Congress move to fence its MLAs in a resort in Bangalore to pre-empt them from being poached ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections next week. As many as six Congress MLAs had resigned in Gujarat, prompting the despatch of the legislators to the party-ruled Karnataka. The Congress has alleged the BJP had hatched a plot to defeat Ahmed Patel in the election.

It was a 'Murderous Attack" yesterday attempted on @OfficeOfRG by RSS/BJP- Charges Ghulam Nabi Azad @INCIndia @abpnewstv

— Ashish ABP News (@AshishSinghLIVE) August 5, 2017

Patel, Sonia Gandhi's political secretary, tweeted about the stone attack: "Is this possible without state's connivance? Action against officials responsible must be initiated immediately." One question crops up: why was Rahul, often ridiculed as ineffective by the BJP and lampooned on social media by trolls sharing the Sangh parivar's beliefs, targeted? Sources suggested that try as the BJP might, it has not yet got anything to nail Rahul who has somehow remained a thorn in the ruling party's side. Rahul himself cited a larger reason why his opponents cannot tolerate him. "They are cowards. I will tell you why they fear. Those who are with truth, who understands truth, need not fear. Mahatma Gandhi taught this to the entire country. We can't be intimidated by Modi slogans, black flags and stones. We will stand with the people with all our might," he said. Manmohan Singh said violence should have no place in a functioning democracy. A tweet that struck a chord among many Congress supporters was one by the party's communications chief Randeep Surjewala: "Violence first refuge of cowards. Godse culture thrives under the BJP." Spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said in response to a question whether Rahul was injured: "That's not the issue. Should we wait for injuries and worse. The issue is of intolerance, of violence. This was an orchestrated, premeditated political action by the goons of the BJP. This is against the democratic tradition, our culture and sanskar. This is authoritarian, dictatorial attitude that can't brook dissent, show of independence. This is the culture of a party that tolerates only yes men and puppets." Singhvi said he had "dignified" the attackers by calling them merely "goons". "Are we reaching a point in our democracy where people can't express their opinions, do politics without intimidation and violence? Seventy people have died due to floods in Banaskantha alone and thousands have been uprooted in the state. Should an opposition politician not visit the suffering people? They can't frighten and silence the Congress in this manner." Anand Sharma, another Congress leader, said: "The BJP's refusal to condemn the incident shows we are dealing with galloping fascism, open and in all its ugliness." Ghulam Nabi Azad said: "This was a well organised attack on Rahul Gandhi to harm him physically. We strongly condemn the act cult of violence for which the BJP and its cadres are famous. This is being deliberately done to create an atmosphere of fear in the state of Gujarat just before the assembly elections." A special Congress briefing has been called on Satuday, signalling trouble for the rest of the Parliament session. (With additional information from The Telegraph, Calcutta)