A youngster was detained on Monday for allegedly hurling a shoe at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi during his roadshow in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district, reported PTI. However, Gandhi was unhurt as Hariom Sharma missed him by a whisker. The police said they are investigating into the case.

The incident took place when the Congress vice president, who is touring the state that will go to polls in 2017, was in his jeep and greeting local people. Gandhi, however, blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for the incident, reported India Today. He said, "I am not afraid of such attacks. While I was headed here, I was attacked by the people of BJP and RSS. I want to tell that that they can attack me as many as times as they want, I will not back down and will keep on fighting."

Gandhi's campaign in Uttar Pradesh has been marred by unfortunate incidents. On September 6, at least 1,500 people who were attending his rally in the state's Dewaria district picked up the "khaats" that the party had provided for them to sit on, and took them home. The incident was repeated in Mirzapur where another set of villagers made off with the cots.