Some Congress members who were eagerly waiting to impress party vice-president Rahul Gandhi at the Dehradun airport were unable to meet him without proper authorisation. Pradeep Batra, the tourism adviser to the Chief Minister was one such Congress leader who was not able to meet Gandhi. Batra arrived in a red-beaconed vehicle and attempted to enter the tarmac to meet Gandhi who met the CM, some Cabinet Ministers and select party leaders only. However, Batra was stopped by the CISF personnel and barred from entering the gate. He was seen talking over the phone in an attempt to gain entry but then retreated.
He made another attempt to enter through the gate but was stopped again since he did not have authorisation. like Batra, there were some other local Congress leaders who had reached the airport with bouquets to welcome the party vice-president but they were not allowed to enter. Some of these local leaders attempted to enter the airport building without buying the entry ticket and were seen trying to contact the airport manager to gain entry. like the media persons waiting at the airport in the hope of a brief interaction with Gandhi, the Congress leaders sans authorisation too returned from the airport without being able to meet him.