Panchkula commuters a harried lot due to security restrictions for Rahul

The police also stopped the protest by BJP workers in the city. The entire area around the Indradhanush Auditorium was sealed off from early in the morning. Some of the beat cops said that they had been on security duty since 7 am. A multi-tier security ring was thrown around the venue and police also stopped the cyclists from plying on the main road connecting the auditorium that was taken by Gandhi to reach the venue.

District president of BJP,Vishal Seth,said that the Congress-ruled state of Haryana had put in place unprecedented security restrictions as it feared that people would greet the Congress leader with protests. “Even we were not allowed to take out the protest and it was stopped on the dividing road of Sectors 5,2 and 4 in the city. We wanted to highlight the corrupt practices of Congress ministers,particularly the recent charges of corruption against Railway Minister Pawan Bansal.”

Residents complained that they experienced a harrowing time due to security restrictions. Jasbir Singh,a resident of Jalandhar,said that the bus in which they were traveling was not allow to pass through the Sector 5 area and he and the other passengers had to travel the distance on foot. “I had work at the CBSE office and have come all the way from Jalandhar but the restrictions were unprecedented,” he said. A Congress worker and resident of Rohtak,Jaibeer Singh Hooda,said that he was not allowed inside the auditorium as he was not carrying a party-issued pass.

The meet between the Congress party workers and vice president,Rahul Gandhi,continued for nearly five hours and concluded at 4.30 pm. The meet was attended by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other ministers in his cabinet. Amit Sinha,Haryana Youth Congress president,said that Gandhi stressed that the Congress needs to be strengthened at the grass-root level.