Tomorrow is the last day of campaigning for the second round of voting in Gujarat. (File)
The Gujarat police have denied permission for roadshows of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Ahmedabad scheduled for tomorrow - the last day of campaigning before Thursday's election. There was a possibility of some overlap in the routes, said police officers. "One of the two roadshows could have created law and order issues since the routes are in mutual conflict," a source said.
Rahul Gandhi's roadshow was to go through the Old City, the Prime Minister was to focus on the newer parts across the river.
The police said the route of these heavy-duty roadshows were through crowded areas, which would have caused major inconvenience to people.
Tomorrow is the last day of campaigning for the second round of voting on Thursday in Gujarat, where the campaigning has been aggressive and high-pitched. Over the weekend, PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi addressed multiple rallies.
On Sunday, political sparring escalated over the Prime Minister's allegation that Pakistan was interfering in the Gujarat polls and discussions were held on the election at a meeting at suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's home that was attended by Congress leaders and Pakistani officials.
This evening, Dr Singh issued an unusually combative response, saying the Prime Minister should apologise for his "ill-thought transgression".
"I sincerely hope that Prime Minister will show the maturity and gravitas expected of the high office he holds instead of concentrating his energy solely on erroneously conceived brownie points. I sincerely hope that he will apologise to the nation," his statement read.
The results of the election will be announced on December 18.