Khanduri’s speech during BJP rally interrupted after crowd prefers lunch

DEHRADUN: In an embarrassment to the BJP, senior leader and MP B C Khanduri had to cut short his speech during a rally in Raipur constituency when some in the audience, which included party supporters, rushed towards the food stalls in the middle of his address.
While the former CM was speaking about BJP’s contribution to the hill state on Friday, over two dozen hungry listeners made a dash for pulao, puri and savoury snacks that were being served.
The crowd of 2,000-odd people had assembled in Raipur in the morning to hear BJP leaders as part of the party’s Pardafash rally which kicked off in Dehradun on Friday.
Many were supporters of former Congress MLA from the constituency, Umesh Sharma Kau, who had organized the event. Khanduri, who was the last speaker at the rally, alleged that the state had been “misruled” by the Congress. “The BJP had formed the Lokpal Bill but it was not implemented in the state by the Congress government. It is now for the people to overthrow the corrupt government in Uttarakhand,” said Khanduri.
Barely 15 minutes into his speech, the crowd seemed restless as the aroma of lunch wafted through the air. After Khanduri saw public make a beeline for food, he stopped halfway through his talk.
The red-faced state BJP said lack of “crowd management” was to be blamed. BJP leader Ravinder Jugran said that Khanduri had to cut short his speech because of the indiscipline among the crowd.
“He stopped speaking because of crowd mismanagement,” said Jugran.
“People should not have been allowed to start lunch when the senior leader was yet to complete his address,” said a party insider.
Kau, however, said that the event went smoothly, except a few “glitches”. “There were a few glitches in the event which have been blown out of proportion, Khanduri spoke about the Lokpal Bill and how its implementation would have weeded out corruption from Uttarakhand.”