Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's effigy was burnt just a couple of hours before his arrival to address a public meeting in Civil lines area in Rampur on Wednesay afternoon.
According to reports, some people burnt the effigy of Rahul Gandhi demanding inclusion of 16 Backward Castes including lodh, Saini and others in the Schedule Caste(SC) category. The protesters burnt the effigy on the Radha Road and raised slogans against the government.
State Minister Mohammad Azam Khan, who hails from Rampur, has already criticised the Congress vice-president for ignoring the plight of the people of the state. Rahul Gandhi is slated to launch his lok Sabha elections campaign in UP from Wednesday by addressing two public meetings-- at Aligarh and then at Rampur.Meanwhile in Allahabad, the supporters of the ruling Samajwadi Partyburnt the effigy of BJP general Secretary and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Amit Shah depicting him as 'Ravan' in connection with the Gujarat riots on Wednesday morning.
The SP supporters raised anti-BJP slogans and burnt the effigy of Shah at Balson crossing. later, the supporters alleged that the BJP leaders like Shah were responsible for the Muzaffarnagar riots and they want to convert UP into another Gujarat over communal violence.
Shah, along with BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, are in Allahabad to hold a meeting with the party district leaders in view of the preparation for the coming lok Sabha elections.UP BJP spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak said that by demonstrating against the BJP, the ruling party leaders were trying to cover-up their lapses in the law and order situation in the state. ''Just raking up the Gujarat issue, the SP was trying to polarise the voters for their vested political interest,'' he added.