Cong leader Hardik slapped during rally in Gujarat's Surendranagar

Ahmedabad: Congress leader Hardik Patel was slapped by a man Friday when he was addressing a poll rally in a village in Surendranagar district of Gujarat, said police.

An angry Patel blamed the BJP for the incident and said this was an attempt to kill him.

However, ruling party leaders said they have nothing to do with the incident, which they termed as a staged drama by the Congress to gain sympathy ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The man, identified as Tarun Gajjar, a resident of Kadi town of Mehsana district, suffered injuries after he was thrashed by Congress workers, Patel supporters and others at the rally venue, around 130km from here. He is currently undergoing treatment as he was badly thrashed by people at the rally, said police inspector of Wadhwan, H R Jethi.Gajjar said he is not associated with any political party and slapped the Patidar quota leader due to personal reasons.

As soon as Hardik Patel started his speech at Baldana village under Wadhwan taluka, Gajjar suddenly came on the stage and slapped him.

The incident was captured in cameras of news channels covering the event in the district, around 130km from here.

Congress candidate for the Surendranagar Lok Sabha seat, Soma Patel, was present on the dais when Patel was slapped.

Gajjar appeared angry and was seen saying something to Patel after slapping him.

Gajjar was overpowered by Congress workers, Hardik Patel supporters and others present at the rally, who also beat him up. The police intervened and freed Gajjar and took him to a safer place in their vehicle, said Jethi. In a video of the incident, Gajjar can be seen being mercilessly thrashed by both women and men, before policemen intervened and took him away.