Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took a joyride on a delivery boy’s scooter in Bengaluru as he hopped in the man’s two-wheeler and rode pillion.

In a video that has been widely viewed and shared on the internet, the Gandhi scion, who is currently campaigning for the Congress ahead of the May 10 elections in Karnataka, is seen surrounded by a large of crowd of supporters and party workers in the heart of Bengaluru city.

The former Wayanad MP then stops to console a little boy who apparently became emotional after meeting Gandhi and in the meantime a delivery man stops near the Congress leader as he’s comforting the kid.

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Then, in the spur of the moment, Rahul Gandhi hops on the man’s scooter, puts on a helmet as the two slowly ride through the swarm of the leader’s supporters.

According to reports, Rahul Gandhi rode pillion with the delivery agent for nearly 2 kms before he dropped the former Congress chief at his hotel.

The videos of Rahul Gandhi’s spontaneous scooter ride with the delivery agent have gone viral on social media with users appreciating the Congress scion’s down-to-earth style of connecting with people.

Rahul Gandhi, who has been mired in a legal battle after he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha following his conviction and sentencing in a 2019 criminal defamation case, is scheduled to hold a slew of public meetings in Bengaluru city ahead of the May 10 Karnataka polls.

Assembly elections will be held in Karnataka on May 10 and counting of votes will take place on May 13.

The Congress and the ruling BJP have been embroiled in a bitter tug of war in the poll-bound state even as the grand old party released a manifesto in which it promised to ban Sangh-affiliated right-wing Hindutva outfit Bajrang Dal if its voted to power in Karnataka.

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Education Minister Atishi Singh on Sunday claimed that the probe agencies have no evidence of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party receiving any kickbacks in the purported liquor policy case and the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate has proved that the AAP is the “most honest party” in the country.

Speaking at a presser, Atishi claimed that there was no evidence of the Rs 100 crore kickbacks recieved by AAP or the Rs 30 crore allegedly used by the Delhi Chief Minister’s party for electoral campaign in Goa Assembly elections, as alleged by the BJP and later mentioned in the ED chargesheet against AAP leaders.

Citing a Delhi court order, the Delhi minister said that the CBI and the ED have raided and interrogated all the vendors in Goa and even after six months, they have no evidence to back their claims of Rs 100 crore kickbacks when everyone who has testified in court, has said that the AAP spent Rs 19 lakh in cash and rest in cheques for poll campaigning in Goa elections.

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Atishi said that in a 86-page order, a Delhi court judge reiterated that the ED hadn’t produced a single piece of evidence to back their charges against the AAP and its leaders, adding that the ED probe proved that the AAP is “most honest party” in the country.

The AAP leader also talked about the against Manish Sisodia, saying that while the ED had claimed that the jailed former Delhi Deputy CM had destroyed 14 mobile phones to erase evidence, it has been found that out of the purported 14 phones, seven were seized by the ED and CBI, while the remaining seven devices are still in use.

Atishi claimed that AAP leader Sanjay Singh was issued a notice by the ED due to pressure from the Prime Minister’s Office, however, when Singh sent them a legal notice,  the probe agency apologized and said they put his name by mistake.

The AAP minister, while reiterating that the alleged liquor policy scam never actually took place, said that neither the ED nor the CBI has any shred of evidence against Sisodia or any other AAP leader.

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A “terrorist associate” was arrested along with a 5 kg of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Pulwama district of southern Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Sunday.

In an official statement, the J&K Police said a “major tragedy was averted” by the Pulwama police by apprehending a “terror associate”, identified as Ishfaq Ahmed Wani, a resident of Arigam area in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.

They said that an IED weighing nearly 5 kilos was recovered from Wani, thus averting a major tragedy, adding that a case has been registered against him and further investigation is underway.

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The terror aide’s arrest and recovery of a large IED comes in the wake of Friday’s tragedy when five Army personnel were killed in an explosion triggered by terrorists in Rajouri district.

According to a Jammu-based defence spokesperson, the Army had launched an anti-terror operation to flush out the culprits of the last month’s attack on an Army truck in nearby Poonch district in which five soldiers were killed, when they were hit by a “terrorists triggered explosives in retaliation.”

The spokesperson said that in the blast, two Army soldiers were killed on the spot, while four other sustained critical injuries and were evacuated to the Command Hospital in Udhampur where three of the soldiers succumbed to their injuries and another is battling for his life.

Giving details, the defence spokesman said that an anti-terror operation was launched at the Kesri Hill in Rajouri’s Kandi area, following specific intel about the movement of terrorists reportedly hiding out in a cave in the region.

An Army official said the terrorists are believed to be involved in the attack on the Army truck on April 20 at Bhata Dhurian in Poonch district that killed five soldiers and the attackers also reportedly fled with the weapons of the slain armymen.

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