On Threat Letter Naming Rahul Gandhi, Madhya Pradesh Minister Says This

A day after an anonymous letter threatened bomb blasts in Indore during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Saturday said it was the state government's responsibility to provide security to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is leading this footmarch.

The anonymous letter threatened that bomb blasts would be carried out in Indore if the Bharat Jodo Yatra made a scheduled night halt at Khalsa Stadium on November 28. The letter, which referred to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, also threatened the assassinations of Rahul Gandhi and Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath.

"The government is responsible for the foolproof security of Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Madhya Pradesh. I want to assure them that it is our commitment as far as providing security is concerned," Mr Mishra told reporters in response to a query about the threat letter.

The minister, however, accused Kamal Nath of rubbing salt to the wounds of victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots by going to the Khalsa Stadium for a function earlier this month.

"Perhaps, Kamal Nath does not want Rahul Gandhi's yatra to come to the state," Mr Mishra said.

The Indore police had said on Friday that the anonymous threat letter was received at a sweets-snacks shop in Juni area of the city on Thursday evening.

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered on Friday under section 507 (criminal intimidation by an unknown person) of the Indian Penal Code.

Khalsa Stadium in Indore was in news earlier this month after there was a controversy over Mr Nath being felicitated at a function held there on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti on November 8.

Kirtan singer Manpreet Singh Kanpuri had referred to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, regarding which Mr Nath had faced allegations in the past, and blasted the organisers for felicitating Mr Nath.

The BJP has already announced that if Mr Nath enters the stadium during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, it will be shown black flags.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)