All-India Congress Committee general secretary, Rahul Gandhi began his three-day visit to Punjab by offering obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar and reviving memories of Operation Blue Star for which his grandmother Indira was responsible. 

However by paying this unexpected visit to the holy place, Rahul committed a serious security breach and sent the state police for a toss.

The unexpected landing of his aircraft landed in Amritsar in the early hours, took the police completely by surprise and he could not be provided any VIP security, leave alone his usual Z-plus security.

Instead of a bullet-proof car, a compulsory security measure, Rahul went to the temple in a regular car with plainclothes Special Protection Group personnel accompanying him. 

Wearing a saffron headgear, he squatted among other devotees in the sanctum sanctorum, listened to kirtan and then went to the community kitchen where he ate at the langar. 

He later went to the historic Jallianwala Bagh and the Durgiana temple before commencing his three-day trip of Punjab’s 17 districts from Mohali with senior Congress leaders.