Stone Hurled At Rahul Gandhi's Car Came From Rajasthan, Claims Gujarat Minister

Gujarat Health Minister Shankar Chaudhary on Wednesday claimed that the stone which was hurled at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's car at Dhanera town came from Rajasthan, and it was a "political conspiracy" involving members of the opposition party.

Mr Chaudhary was speaking in the Legislative Assembly during a discussion on the steps taken by the BJP government following the floods in Banaskantha and Patan districts.

"We have learned that the stone was from Rajasthan. Stones with such features are not found in Dhanera. It seems someone brought it from Rajasthan," said Mr Chaudhary, MLA from Vav in Banaskantha district.

On a tour of flood-affected areas in Banaskantha district on August 4, Rahul Gandhi escaped unhurt when a stone was thrown at his car at Dhanera. Mr Gandhi had arrived there after visiting flood-affected areas in Rajasthan.

Police have arrested four persons including Jayesh Darji, who, the Congress has alleged, is a BJP worker.

But the minister claimed that the culprits belonged the Congress.

"It's possible that someone brought the stone from Rajasthan as a part of political conspiracy. We are sure those who hurled the stone were from Congress," Mr Chaudhary said.

Congress MLAs were not present in the House as they had walked out in protest.

Earlier, Congress MLA from Palanpur, Mahesh Patel, had sought to know what steps the government was taking to restore normalcy in the flood-hit areas.

Out of 51 Congress MLAs, around 20 were present today.

Revenue minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said the administration had done a commendable job of providing relief.

Congress MLAs from Banaskantha, including Deesa MLA Gova Rabari, alleged that several villages were still awaiting relief.

Without naming Rahul Gandhi, Rabari said Congress leaders were even attacked when they visited the area.

To this, Mr Chudasama said, "Your leader ignored security set-up. Instead of taking a vehicle provided by the government, he travelled in party worker's car. He did it for publicity."

When Congress MLAs started shouting slogans in protest, Speaker Ramanlal Vora said the Congress legislators had abandoned their people in the time of need.

As the sloganeering continued, the Speaker asked marshals to evict those who were near the Well. Remaining Congress MLAs then walked out in protest.

The two-day monsoon session, which ended on Wednesday, would be the last session of the 13th Gujarat Assembly, as elections are due by year-end.