Kolkata, Sep 6 (IANS) Sending security personnel into a tizzy, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Monday mingled with people and had a brief road show during his six-hour tour to the city.
Gandhi, also in-charge of the Youth Congress, seemed in great spirits as he waved to the crowds and came down the podium after his 10-minute speech at the Shahid Minar Maidan rally.
He crossed the barricade, erected as a buffer between the crowd and the podium, and came close to the wildly cheering Congress activists who tried frantically to touch and shake hands with him.
True to his style, the young Gandhi mingled with Congress supporters and shook hands with them.
Only minutes ago he had said: ‘I criss-cross the entire nation and mingle with the common people.’
Clad in spotless white kurta and pyjama, Gandhi also struck up conversations with a few in the crowd, which had eagerly waited for long. Many held his pictures, Congress flags and banners hailing Gandhi.
To greet the onlookers, he instructed the driver to drive slow, stood on the footboard keeping the door open and waved to them.
The crowd immediately swelled, and he greeted them in return.
Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel had to alight from their vehicles quickly and formed a ring around Gandhi’s vehicle.
Earlier at the rally venue, a section of Congress workers breached the barricade and gatecrashed into the media enclosure, making the going tough for the journalists.
A stampede-like situation followed, some chairs broke and a few people got minor injuries.
