Shajapur:
Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra witnessed a surprise encounter in Madhya Pradesh's Shajapur town on Tuesday as BJP supporters shouted “Modi-Modi” as his convoy passed through the area.
The Congress leader stopped the procession to interact with the chanting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, who also offered him potatoes, while he blew a kiss in response.
Later in the evening, Mr Gandhi mentioned the incident while addressing a rally, saying it is easy to face such things by opening a rally. “mohabbat ki dukan” (shop of love) in “nafrat ka bazaar” (market of hate).
The yatra, which entered BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, encountered a group of BJP supporters led by corporator Mukesh Dubey, who shouted chants in favor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Seeing the group, Mr Gandhi stopped the convoy to interact with them, exchanging greetings and handshakes as the BJP workers shouted “Jai Shri Ram”.
After the brief conversation, Mr Gandhi returned to his vehicle, waving and blowing a kiss, before continuing the journey.
Speaking to PTI later, BJP corporator Dubey termed Gandhi's gesture as a response to their slogans, stating that he welcomed the Congress leader and even presented him with potatoes. “I told Gandhi you are welcome,” he said.
The yatra continued to Ujjain later in the day.
Addressing a gathering from his car in Ujjain, Gandhi said, “Open a shop of love in the market of hate. This is quite simple. It is not that hard.'
“Sometimes it happens during the yatra, like it happened today. Three-four people of BJP were standing with flags. They were shouting. I got down from the vehicle and shook hands and asked how is your brother? And they stopped shouting and started smiling and when I left they did this (a gesture of kissing).”
Earlier, Gandhi offered prayers at the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain along with former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and state Congress president Jitu Patwari.
The potatoes are a reference to an old video in which some BJP leaders said Mr Gandhi had spoken about turning potatoes into gold. However, many fact-checking websites had said that the clip was taken out of context and the full video showed the Congress leader taking a swipe at the BJP with that line.