It was not something that he had expected from a constituency that had always rolled out the red carpet for him.
For Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was reportedly taken aback at the angry protests that greeted him in Amethi on Friday.
Residents of Chitkapur and Radheypur villages braved the rains on Friday to meet the Congress MP and hand over their requests for hand-pumps, medical treatment, education and roads and an over bridge near Amethi railway station.
The group was not allowed to meet Mr Gandhi who was staying at the Munshiganj guest house during his two-day visit.
Angry at being denied an audience, the villagers became restive and started shouting slogans against the Congress MP. The villagers even asked Mr Gandhi to leave the constituency. The drama continued for about 30 minutes after which some Congress leaders intervened and a delegation was taken in to meet Mr Gandhi who apparently assured them that their grievances would be taken care of soon.
Later, Mr Gandhi is believed to have questioned his staff and the local officials about the delay in taking up developmental projects.
The protests on Friday, incidentally, came after a group of girl students, on Thursday, had tried to block Mr Gandhi’s route while he was on his way to inaugurate a branch of a bank in Bhadar area. The girl students were upset at the lack of amenities in their college.
However, the local intelligence unit alerted the SPG about the protests and the Congress MP’s route was changed at the last minute. The students later raised slogans and condemned the MP for not meeting them.
It may be recalled that the people of Amethi have been complaining about lack of communication with Mr Gandhi and have been blaming his representatives for the same. During the Assembly elections, the people of Amethi had made similar complaints to Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and she had promised to improve the system.