'I feared for Rahul Gandhi's life'

Congress MLA Pramod Tiwari, who was on Monday seen among those scuffling with youths who tried to show black flags to Rahul Gandhi when his helicopter landed at Phulpur near Allahabad, defended his act saying "I feared for the life of our young leader whose family has been a victim of political violence".

"My reaction was spontaneous. I feared whether the people were out there to make an attempt on Gandhi's life. I feared for the life of our young leader whose family has been a victim of political violence. His father Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated after surviving a number of attempts on his life. His grandmother Indira Gandhi too was killed in a high-security zone," he said.

"All these things flashed in my mind when I saw those people rushing towards the helipad", Tiwari told mediapersons.

News channels have beamed images showing Tiwari, who is also the leader of Congress Legislature Party in Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, and Union Minister Jitin Prasada joining the SPG personnel in scuffling the youths who are said to be supporters of Samajwadi Party's youth wing.

Tiwari also claimed he himself received injuries when "one of the them hit me after I held him by the collar".

Meanwhile, All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Digvijaya Singh expressed concern over the incident and demanded Mayawati government in the state "order an investigation into the serious breach of security."