Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi denied permission to hold roadshows in Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi have been denied permission to hold roadshows in Gujarat's capital on Tuesday.

Ahmedabad Police refused to give its nod for the roadshows citing law and order problem.

"Request by BJP and Congress for conducting PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi's roadshow tomorrow (Tuesday), turned down by police due to security, law and order reasons and to avoid public inconvenience," Anup Kumar Singh, Police Commissioner Ahmedabad told ANI.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had requested the permission to hold the roadshow from Dharnidhar Derasar to Bapunagar, Congress had asked premission to hold its rodashow from Jagannath Mandir to Memko Char Rasta.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sparred in battleground Gujarat on Sunday where the former claimed leaders of the opposition party held a secret meeting with current and former Pakistani officials a day ahead of Mani Shankar Aiyar's "neech" jibe against him.

Modi claimed there was an attempt by Pakistan to interfere in the Gujarat polls.

Rahul Gandhi, set to assume the reins of the Congress in a few days from now, amid the acrimony-filled campaign, attacked Modi but promised he would not use even one "galat shabd" (wrong word) against the prime minister, remarks that came in the wake of Aiyar's "neech" barb that may not have gone down well with a section of Gujarati voters.

The first phase of polling took place on Saturday and recorded a voter turnout of 66.75 percent in 89 of 182 constituencies.

The second-phase voting in remaining 93 constituencies is on December 14, and the votes will be counted on December 18.

The Congress is eyeing to dethrone the BJP government in the state. The last Congress government in Gujarat was led by Chhabildas Mehta from February 17, 1994 to March 13, 1995.