Advani prefers prevention over cure for ‘shoe-bite’

Some women Congress workers assembled at Kalol on Sunday night and chalked out a shoe-throwing and black flag-waving protest programme during Advani’s roadshow on Monday morning. But Inspector J M Patel of Kalol police got wind of the plan a few minutes after the meeting got over.

Police sources said the officer immediately contacted Congress LS candidate Suresh Patel,also a sitting MLA from Kalol,and requested him to prevent his party’s women workers from going ahead with the shoe-hurling programme. Responding to the PI’s plea,the Congress candidate immediately contacted the women and asked them not to indulge in such a “disgraceful” act against a senior leader like Advani.

Local BJP leaders,however,were suspicious about the whole episode. As Advani,accompanied by his family members,was still conducting his roadshow in Kalol on Monday morning,he was advised to abandon the show halfway. Advani complied.

“Advaniji could have completed his roadshow,but for narrow lanes and inadequate police bandobast in the town,” reasoned Gandhinagar district BJP general secretary Jayanti Patel. A senior local party worker,however,admitted that they were forced to cut short the programme after learning about a “footwear missile programme by a group of women from the rival party”.