Amethi: Vehicles vandalised outside Congress office, party blames Smriti Irani, BJP; police probe on

Several vehicles were vandalised in Amethi on Sunday night.

Several vehicles parked outside the Congress office in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi were allegedly vandalised on Sunday night. While the police said they were investigating the matter, the Congress targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party for the attack in which some Congress workers also sustained injuries.

Taking to social media platform X (formally Twitter), the Congress also alleged that during the incident, while “vehicles of local people were also damaged, the police administration remained a mute spectator”.

“Smriti Irani and BJP workers are badly scared in Amethi, UP. Frustrated over the defeat they saw, BJP goons armed with sticks and rods reached outside the Congress office in Amethi and vandalised vehicles parked there. There was an attack on Congress workers and the people of Amethi. Many people are badly injured in this attack… This incident shows that the BJP is going to lose badly in Amethi,” the Congress posted in Hindi while sharing a video of the alleged incident.

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Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged that the police remained a silent spectator, while the BJP workers continued with their hooliganism.

“The wind has changed, breaking vehicles will not solve the problem, BJP people!” Supriya Shrinate wrote on X.

Responding to Supriya Shrinate’s post, the Amethi Police said, “On the basis of the complaint received at the Gauriganj police station, necessary legal action is being taken by registering a case under the relevant sections.”

The BJP is yet to react to the incident.

The Congress has fielded the Gandhi family’s close aide Kishori Lal Sharma against sitting MP Smriti Irani from Amethi. There was speculation that Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi could be given a ticket to contest from the Amethi seat, but all were laid to rest when the Congress announced the name of the candidate.

Also Read | Gandhis and the battle for Rae Bareli, Amethi

Sonia Gandhi contested the 2019 general elections from Rae Bareli and defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s Dinesh Pratap Singh by a margin of over 1.6 lakh votes.

In Amethi, Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi by 55,000 votes, ending the Gandhi family’s stint on the seat.

The Congress had won just 2 seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2014 (Rae Bareli and Amethi). The tally came down to just one in 2019 after the party lost Amethi.

Sonia Gandhi won Rae Bareli for four successive terms before she moved to Rajya Sabha this time.

The Congress, which is aiming to register a strong comeback after two historic losses in 2014 and 2019, has a tough task in hand to wrest back Amethi and retain Rae Bareli. In the 2022 assembly elections, the Congress couldn’t win any seat under Rae Bareli.

Amethi will vote in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election 2024 on May 20.

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