Gujarat Congress invites Rahul Gandhi to be part sammelans to be held across state

Gujarat Congress will organise more than 300 sammelans (conventions) across the state this month to highlight what it calls the failure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, and has invited party leader Rahul Gandhi to be a part of the same, a senior party functionary said

state Congress president Jagdish Thakor said the party plans to organise sammelans in 251 talukas, 33 districts and eight metro centres in two phases, between April 6-12 and April 15-25. Gandhi has been invited to Gujarat between April 20 and April 25 to lend his support, he said.

Gandhi was last in Surat on March 23 to appear before a court, which convicted him in a criminal defamation case and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment, eventually leading to his disqualification as a member of the Lok Sabha.

Denying permission for peaceful protests has become a norm in the state, he said. The government fears mass mobilisation over its failure to address issues affecting different sections of society if permission is granted for protests, he said.

In a democracy, it is mandatory for the authorities to grant permission to protest when applied for Congress has decided to apply for permission at local police stations, and carry on with its programme irrespective of whether the permission is franted or not, Thakur said.