Congress keeps an eye on shoes as PM visits city

The Congress and the police are keeping a close watch as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits the city today to meet party candidates at the Grand Hyatt. Worried about recent instances of shoes being flung at politicians, Congress party members want to ensure that no such incident takes place during the PM's visit.

Kripashankar Singh, president, Mumbai Regional Congress Committee, said, "We have made stringent security arrangements for the PM's visit. We are alert and the recent incidents are fresh in our minds. We will ensure that there is no shoe throwing incident."

Singh, however, added that no person will be asked to remove their shoes before entering the hall.

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S G Nekalikar, senior inspector, Vakola police station, said, "The first thing that comes to our mind nowadays when we discuss security are the shoe-throwing incidents. We are taking all precautions for the PM's visit and will ensure that no untoward incident takes place."

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Flashback

On April 8, journalist Jarnail Singh hurled a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram during a press conference in New Delhi. Jarnail was not happy with the replies from Chidambaram about Jagdish Tyter and Sajjan Kumar getting a clean chit from the CBI for their role in the 1984 Sikh riots. On April 10, Rajmal Singh Saharan, a retired school principal, threw a shoe on Congress MP Naveen Jindal in Kurukshetra.