Man with a gun during sub-Bharat Jodo yatra in MP belongs to BJP, says Cong

Bhopal, Nov 9 : A day after a man whipped out a gun during a sub-rally of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior-Chambal area, the state Congress unit on Wednesday alleged that the miscreant was associated with the saffron party.

A group of Congress leaders, including the leader of opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly Dr Govind Singh and MLA Jayvardhan Singh — son of Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh –, blamed the ruling BJP for the incident.

Such an incident may reoccur when the foot march led by Rahul Gandhi enters in the state on November 20, they stated.

The Congress also demanded that the government ensure full security arrangement when the rally enters the state and passes through seven districts including Indore, Ujjain, Khargone and Agar-Malwa.

On Tuesday, when a sub-yatra was proceeding from Bhind to Gwalior district, a youth armed with a loaded country-made revolver tried to open fire on one of the people present. He was, however, overpowered by the people and handed over to the police.

Dr Govind Singh, who is MLA from Lahar Assembly seat in Bhind district, was leading the march from Bhind to Gwalior.

According to the Congress leaders, the incident occurred around 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday, when Bharat Jodo tertiary march entered Gwalior district. “All of sudden a youth came and pointed the gun at a person, who was part of the march. He was about to shoot him when people present there overpowered him and handed him over to the police. It is a matter of concern and we suspect that such an incident may occur in future as well,” the LoP told IANS.

However, Gwalior police claimed that the accused — identified as Jitu Gurjar — had accompanied victim Chhotu Tomar to the rally. “The incident was a fallout of a personal rivalry between the two men. The accused has been arrested,” said Amit Sanghi, Gwalior SP.

Notably, former Chief Minister and Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath had visited Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on November 6 and apprised him about the Yatra’s arrival in the state.

Sources said that Chouhan has appointed senior bureaucrats to ensure the security and other arrangements for the same.