KANPUR: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was today booked for alleged violation of model code of conduct by UP authorities that said that his road show here had breached the time limit and the roadmap set by them.
District Magistrate Hari Om said that an FIR has been filed against Rahul and city Congress chief Mahesh Dikshit who have been booked under Section 188 of IPC for violating prohibitory orders (Section 144) imposed in the city and under Sections 283 (danger or obstruction in public way) and 290 (public nuisance).
"The district administration had allocated time till noon and fixed a 20-km route for Rahul Gandhi's road show but Rahul Gandhi violated it and stretched it beyond permitted time. He also did not stick to the prescribed route for the event," the DM told PTI.
However, state Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who was part of the roadshow, denied there was any violation of the model code of conduct and accused the district administration of trying to stop Rahul's mass contact programme at the behest of the Mayawati Government.
"The party has apprised the Election Commission about the action of the district administration," she said.
Kanpur MP and Union Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal dared the authorities to file an FIR against him. "I had invited Rahul Gandhi for the roadshow. Let the authorities file an FIR against me," he told reporters.
The DM claimed that the roadshow organisers had sought permission for a 38-km stretch but they had been informed last night about the conditions. "The district administration had fixed a 20-km route for Rahul Gandhi's road show as today is Shivratri and there could be a traffic problem.
"Still they violated the rules and chose to follow the route for which permission had not been granted," he said, adding, "There could have been a security breach or a clash".