Kejriwal set to begin Gujarat tour

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was set to arrive here on Friday evening on a four-day visit to Gujarat during which he will address a public rally in Surat.

Pro-and anti-Kejriwal crowds massed outside the Ahmedabad airport shouting slogans even before he landed, with police personnel keeping both the groups apart.

Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is said to be getting the backing of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti led by 23-year-old Hardik Patel.

Surat has a significant presence of the Patel community.

Hardik Patel has been ordered by a court to remain out of Gujarat for six months after being granted bail in sedition cases in July.

Meanwhile, posters have emerged at several places in the state equating Kejriwal with terrorists like Osama bin Laden, Hafiz Saeed and Burhan Wani.

The posters were noticed at prominent places in and around Unjha and Mehsana towns of north Gujarat where Kejriwal is scheduled to meet family members of those killed during the Patidar agitation.

The Gujarat government first delayed giving permission to Kejriwal to hold a rally on Sunday. The Gujarat High Court reversed the decision.

Blaming the ruling BJP for the poster campaign, AAP's Gujarat convenor Gulab Singh Yadav said: "It's their handiwork.

"The miscreants who earlier targeted our bike rally on October 9 turned out to be associates of BJP President Amit Shah. And now this. This clearly shows the BJP is rattled."

--IANS

desai/mr/bg