Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's vehicle allegedly came under attack in North Bengal’s Malda on Wednesday afternoon.
Gandhi is in Malda as part his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the second leg of which began from today and will cover Malda, Murshidabad and parts of Birbhum before moving on to Jharkhand.
The incident happened at a location close to Dewangunj under Harishchandrapur police station.
The state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said the rear glass of the vehicle broke after a stone was pelted at the vehicle. “It is quite clear who is behind the attack,” Chowdhury said without naming anyone.
Ties between the Congress and the Trinamul, a partner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, has gone south since Trinamul chief and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced her decision to go it alone in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
“Ever since the Yatra entered Cooch Behar we have been facing one obstacle after the other,” Chowdhury said.
Last week, posters and banners welcoming Gandhi in Cooch Behar town were torn. The state government had also allegedly denied permission to the state Congress to host Gandhi at the state guest house.
On February 1, the yatra will enter Murshidabad before exiting the state the next day.
Covering 523 km across six West Bengal districts so far, the yatra has traversed Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Uttar Dinajpur, with Malda and Murshidabad slated for the second phase, party leaders said.
The journey through North Bengal, once a Congress stronghold, witnessed enthusiastic reception, as Gandhi interacted with locals along the route.
Encountering obstacles akin to those faced in BJP-ruled states like Assam and Manipur, the Congress encountered challenges in securing permission for public meetings and lodging arrangements in Jalpaiguri, Malda and Murshidabad districts of TMC-ruled Bengal, still its ally at the national level, the leaders said.
The ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, which started in Manipur on January 14, is scheduled to cover 6,713 km in 67 days, while passing through 110 districts in 15 states, before culminating in Mumbai on March 20.
