A BJP leader said he presented potatoes to Mr Gandhi.
Shajapur:
Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra witnessed a surprise encounter at Shajapur city of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday when BJP supporters shouted “Modi-Modi” as his convoy passed through the area.
The Congress leader halted the procession to engage with the chanting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, who also offered potatoes to him, while he blew a kiss in response.
Later in the evening, Mr Gandhi mentioned the incident during his address to a gathering, saying that it was easy to face such things by opening a “mohabbat ki dukan” (shop of love) in “nafrat ka bazaar” (market of hatred).
The yatra, which entered BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, encountered a group of BJP supporters led by corporator Mukesh Dubey, who were shouting chants in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Gandhi, upon spotting the group, paused the convoy to interact with them, exchanging greetings and handshakes as the BJP workers shouted “Jai Shri Ram”.
Following the brief exchange, Mr Gandhi returned to his vehicle, waving and blowing a kiss before continuing the journey.
Speaking to PTI later, BJP corporator Dubey mentioned Gandhi’s gesture in response to their slogans, stating he welcomed the Congress leader and even presented potatoes to him. “I told Gandhi that you are welcome,” he said.
The yatra proceeded to Ujjain later in the day.
Addressing a gathering from his vehicle in Ujjain, Gandhi said, “Open a shop of love in the market of hatred. This is quite easy. It is not that difficult.”
“Sometimes it happens during the yatra, like it happened today. Three-four people from BJP were standing with flags. They were shouting. I got down from the vehicle and shook hands and asked how are you brother? And they stopped shouting and started smiling and then when I was leaving, they were doing this (making a gesture of blowing kisses).”
Earlier, Gandhi offered prayers at 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, according to some BJP leaders, Mr Gandhi had spoken about converting potatoes to gold. Many fact-checking websites had, however, said the clip was taken out of context and the full video showed that the Congress leader was taking a dig at the BJP using that line.
