'Security breach' at Rahul's yatra as man hugs him

A man rushed towards Rahul Gandhi and tried to hug him as the Bharat Jodo Yatra traversed through the district on Tuesday but was stopped by Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.

IMAGE: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi waves to the party supporters during party's Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Hoshiarpur on Tuesday. Punjab party chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also present. Photograph: ANI Photo

Inspector General of Police G S Dhillon said Gandhi had himself called the man and there was no security breach.

Warring also said there was no breach of security and that the man was an overenthusiastic supporter of Gandhi.

In a video of the incident, the man wearing a jacket could be seen rushing towards the Congress MP and trying to embrace him.

But Warring and other party workers accompanying Gandhi stopped him and pushed him away.

WATCH: Man hugs Rahul Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Yatra, pulled away

"I have verified it. Rahul ji himself called him (the man) and then he tried to hug him (the Congress MP). After that (Amrinder Singh) Raja warring pushed him away as the yatra moves with a certain speed and it affects its movement," Dhillon said, adding there was nothing to suggest that it was a security breach.

Later at his press conference Gandhi also said there was no security breach.

"I do not know why you are calling that a (security) lapse. I think the person was checked by the security people, he was a bit over-excited.

"There is quite a lot of enthusiasm in the Yatra, many people get over-excited and that was the case where he was a bit extra charged up, so there is no problem in that. It has happened many a time before. I wouldn't call that a security lapse," said Gandhi.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed from Tanda in Hoshiarpur Tuesday morning as part of its Punjab leg, amid biting cold conditions.

The yatra will halt for the night at Mukerian.

The march, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, will conclude in Srinagar by January 30, with Gandhi hoisting the national flag in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

It has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

On Saturday, the march was suspended for 24 hours in view of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary death.

The MP had suffered a cardiac arrest during the yatra. The march had resumed on Sunday afternoon in Jalandhar.

The Punjab leg of the march began on Wednesday from Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib.