Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat; to address party workers, meet Rajkot fire victims' kin

Ahmedabad: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be on a visit to Ahmedabad city in Gujarat on Saturday, where he will address party workers, a leader said.

Gandhi will also meet the family members of those who lost their lives in various tragedies in Gujarat in the recent past, including the Rajkot game zone fire, the boat capsize incident in Vadodara and Morbi bridge collapse.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha is visiting Gujarat days after BJP and Congress workers clashed outside the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) office here over alleged anti-Hindu remarks made by Gandhi in the Lok Sabha. Following the clash, complaints were lodged against each other by both sides and FIRs were registered, leading to the arrest of five Congress workers.

Talking to reporters on Friday, Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil said Gandhi will also meet the family members of those five Congress workers who are currently in police custody.

"Rahul Gandhi will arrive at the GPCC office here around 12.30 pm. During his visit, he will meet and address party workers. He will also meet the kin of the victims who lost their lives in the Rajkot game zone fire and other such tragedies. He will also interact with the family members of those party workers who were arrested by the police after the clash," he said.

The clash broke out between members of both Congress and BJP outside the Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, Congress's state headquarters in Paldi area of the city on July 2 after BJP's youth wing members came there to protest against Gandhi's remarks on Hindus.

According to police, both sides engaged in stone-pelting, in which five policemen, including an Assistant Commissioner of Police, were injured.

A day after the clash, Ellisbridge police registered two FIRs and arrested five Congress workers.

While one FIR was registered against nearly 450 workers belonging to both Congress and BJP, another was registered against Congress workers on a complaint lodged by the youth wing of the BJP's Ahmedabad unit.