Shoe becomes sandal for Advani

KATNI/NEW DELHI: It was the turn of NDA���s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani to be at the receiving end of a growing club of footwear hurlers. A former BJP office-bearer lobbed a slipper at him while Mr Advani got up to address a public meeting in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. The sandal missed Mr Advani.

The man, identified as Pawas Agrawal, threw a wooden toe-knob sandal at Mr Advani, saying he was ���a fake iron man��� and did not deserve to be BJP���s prime ministerial candidate. The former Katni district president was sent to jail by a CJM���s court after he was whisked away by police and booked under CrPC Section 151 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognisable offences).

Police also slapped Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 294 (obscene acts and songs) of IPC against Mr Agrawal.

Mr Agrawal���s father S B Agrawal later presented papers claiming that his son had been suffering from a mental problem since 2007 and was undergoing treatment for the same at Nagpur.

���Since the past two-three days, he was behaving in an abnormal manner and even beat his brother on Wednesday,��� he added. The sandal hurler had told mediapersons that Mr Advani was, ���nakli Lauh Purush. On the one hand he asks for votes in the name of Ram and on the other hand pays obeisance to Mohammed Ali Jinnah.���

Mr Advani refused to comment on the incident. When reporters wanted to talk to him after his address to the election meeting, Mr Advani said that they should only listen to him and not ask questions.