A sudden change in Telangana tour plan of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Rahul Gandhi derailed the security arrangement that was put in place by the Adilabad District police.
In the changed schedule, Mr. Gandhi is reaching Nanded in Maharashtra on Thursday instead of Hyderabad. The Congress leader is reported to be slightly indisposed and wanted to cut down on the meetings scheduled for him at Shamshabad airport in the Telangana capital and a couple of other engagements en route to Nirmal town in Adilabad District from where he will undertake his Kisan Sandesh Yatra on Friday.
According to sources, Mr. Gandhi may even opt for covering a part of the 15 k.m. distance in a vehicle which he is scheduled to walk for meeting families of farmers who had committed suicide. “A decision towards this will be taken only after the AICC vice president reaches Nirmal,” the source pointed out.
Meanwhile, the change in plan has upset the security arrangements which were put in place for Mr. Gandhi's arrival from Hyderabad. The security forces will now have to carryout road opening exercise between Beltaroda in Tanur mandal on the border with Maharashtra and Nirmal town, a distance of about 60 k.m.
Even deployment of personnel along the route has to be drawn from locally available force, the source said. The total distance between Nanded and Nirmal is 112 km of which nearly half falls in Maharashtra.
Another dislocation in terms of security is the convoy which was organised for his reception and travel to Nirmal at the Hyderabad airport. The convoy will have to reach Nanded well before 6.30 p.m., the scheduled time of arrival of the aircraft carrying the Congress leader.
There was disagreement between the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) and the security forces over including Koratikal in Mamda mandal in the Yatra. “He will walk all the 7 k.m. through open fields which will hardly serve the purpose of the yatra of meeting farmers,” the source said.
“We are of the opinion that if the AICC vice-president wants to spend good time with families of the farmers he should cut down on his walking time. This is why we had advised the TPCC to bring the Koratikal family to Laxmanchanda for him to meet,” a source associated with the VIP visitor's security revealed.
