Garland Thrown at Rahul Gandhi Lands Perfectly Around His Neck, Video Goes Viral

The incident happened during the Congress president’s roadshow in Tumkuru on Wednesday where Rahul Gandhi was campaigning for his party ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections.

News18.com

Updated:April 6, 2018, 10:29 AM IST

Garland Thrown at Rahul Gandhi Lands Perfectly Around His Neck, Video Goes Viral

File photo of Congress president Rahul Gandhi. (PTI)

New Delhi: A garland thrown by Congress supporter landed exactly around Rahul Gandhi’s neck during a roadshow in Karnataka.

The incident happened during the Congress president’s roadshow in Tumkuru on Wednesday where Gandhi was campaigning for his party ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections.

It was caught on camera and the video of the incident has since gone viral on social media.

In the video, Gandhi can be seen standing on top of his bus waving at the crowd while conducting his roadshow. Suddenly, a hand is seen throwing a garland at him.

Karnataka’s got talent! 😉 pic.twitter.com/qkQqaefefe
— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) April 5, 2018

The garland landed exactly around his neck. For a second, he looks stunned by what happened and then quickly removes it.

Police are investigating whether the incident was a security breach or not.

Gandhi was in Tumkuru to visit the Lingayat seminary Siddhaganga Mutt and seek the blessings of Sri Shivakumara Swami, the highly revered seer of the community.

On the fifth lap of his two-day election tour in Karnataka, Gandhi visited the Mutt and met the 111-year-old seer along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and KPCC President G Parameshwara.

His visit comes against the backdrop of the Siddaramaiah government's move to recommend to the Centre grant of religious minority status to Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats, who are politically powerful.

The state government's action was seen as an attempt to divide the votes of Lingayats, who constitute about 17 percent of the state population and form a strong vote base of BJP.

BJP is projecting Lingayat strongman, former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, as its chief ministerial face.

On all his earlier tours, Gandhi had visited temples and other religious places. BJP president Amit Shah has also visited the Siddaganga Mutt seer and other Lingayat and Veerashaiva pontiffs during his tours. Shah had also met the seers of Dalits and Backward Classes in an attempt to reach out to the communities from these sections.