Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja moved, and the shoe appeared to have brushed past his leg.
Ahmedabad:
A shoe was hurled at another politician on Thursday, this time Gujarat minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja was the target and the missile brushed past his leg.
Gopal Itolia, the man allegedly responsible, had been unhappy about the lax implementation of Gujarat's prohibition policy. Mr Jadeja is the state's junior home minister and holds independent charge of several ministries including prohibition and law.
As the policemen whisked him away, Mr Itolia declared he had no regrets. "This is a shoe hurled at the state government... at its lax prohibition policy... anti-poor policies... poor law and order situation," he said.
Mr Jadeja is the third politician this year to have a shoe flung at him. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had a shoe tossed at him during a public meeting in Haryana's Rohtak in January 1. Days later, someone flipped off a shoe at Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal too.
Mr Itolia already faces a police case for calling up Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, impersonating as a government officer to complain that policemen, on the payrolls of the bootleggers, had turned the prohibition policy into a farce.
The latest incident happened when Mr Jadeja was addressing the media just outside the state assembly in Gujarat capital Gandhinagar to speak about the murder of a Dalit sarpanch (village headman) allegedly killed for contesting panchayat polls in the state's Amreli district.
Mr Itolia, who had been a home guard many years back, appeared from behind the camera crew and started raising slogans against the implementation of the prohibition policy. Seconds later, he took off his shoe and allegedly hurled it at the minister. The minister moved, and the shoe appeared to have brushed past his leg. But the minister nonetheless appeared stunned.
Gopal Itolia, the man allegedly responsible, had been unhappy about the lax implementation of Gujarat's prohibition policy. Mr Jadeja is the state's junior home minister and holds independent charge of several ministries including prohibition and law.
As the policemen whisked him away, Mr Itolia declared he had no regrets. "This is a shoe hurled at the state government... at its lax prohibition policy... anti-poor policies... poor law and order situation," he said.
Mr Jadeja is the third politician this year to have a shoe flung at him. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had a shoe tossed at him during a public meeting in Haryana's Rohtak in January 1. Days later, someone flipped off a shoe at Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal too.
Mr Itolia already faces a police case for calling up Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, impersonating as a government officer to complain that policemen, on the payrolls of the bootleggers, had turned the prohibition policy into a farce.
The latest incident happened when Mr Jadeja was addressing the media just outside the state assembly in Gujarat capital Gandhinagar to speak about the murder of a Dalit sarpanch (village headman) allegedly killed for contesting panchayat polls in the state's Amreli district.
Mr Itolia, who had been a home guard many years back, appeared from behind the camera crew and started raising slogans against the implementation of the prohibition policy. Seconds later, he took off his shoe and allegedly hurled it at the minister. The minister moved, and the shoe appeared to have brushed past his leg. But the minister nonetheless appeared stunned.
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