From George Bush to Manjhi: A look at the people who were attacked with shoes

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi was almost the latest target of shoe throwing protesters, when a man tried to hurl footwear at him during a public meeting that he was holding in Patna.

According to reports, the man tried to throw his slipper at Manjhi while he was holding a ‘janta durbar’ in Patna, where people are allowed to meet the Chief Minister with their grievances.

The attacker, who was detained by police personnel present at the event, accused the Chief Minister of playing caste politics.

Following this incident, Manjhi joins that exclusive group of people, including George Bush, Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi, who have faced such attacks. Here is a look at some of the other famous personalities who have had footwear thrown at them:

George W Bush: It all started on 14 December, 2008 with angry Iraqi TV journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi. He stood up during George W Bush’s press conference in Iraq and shouted “this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog,” before hurling a shoe at Mr Bush which narrowly missed him, reported the BBC.

Wen Jiabao: A human rights protester though a shoe at former Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, while he was delivering a speech at the Cambridge University in London. The shoe landed several metres from the premier and the man was quickly apprehended by security. A student who witnessed the incident told CNN that the man had stood up and shouted, “Why are you prostituting yourself? How can you listen to the lies he is telling?”

Mahmoud Ahmadenijad: Iran’s former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was similarly targeted on 6 March, 2009 during a visit to the Iranian city of Urumiye. Ahmadinejad found the shoe on the other foot as he waved to the crowd from an open-top car on his way to give a speech at a local stadium, reported The Guardian.

P Chidambaram: Then Home Minister had a shoe thrown at him on 7 April, 2009 by Jarnail Singh, a journalist who worked with Dainik Jagran. The shoe did not hit the minister and the journalist, a senior reporter with Dainik Jagran, was taken into custody, the Indian Express had reported .

Manmohan Singh: Manmohan Singh was subjected to the shoe attack on on 26 April, 2009 during an election rally, but the it landed a few metres away from the former prime minister. An NDTV report had said the youth who attempted to throw shoe at Manmohan was taken away by police. Manmohan had asked police not to file a case against the 28-year-old shoe-thrower.

BS Yeddyurappa: On 28 April 2009, a chappal was hurled at then Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa at a BJP rally in the town of Channarayapatna in Hassan district. The culprit was allegedly a drunk vagabond. A sify.com report had quoted Channarayapatna police inspector N Kumar as saying, “His (the slipper thrower’s) name is Chandrashekar and he is aged about 34 years. He is a vagabond and appeared drunk.”

Asif Ali Zardari: On 7 August, 2010 Pakistan’s former president Asif Ali Zardari was targeted by a man (Sardar Shamim Khan) who hurled not just one, but a pair of shoes at him during his visit to Birmingham, England. “Zardari was in the middle of a long campaign speech when a man towards the back of the crowd hurled the shoes at him,” The Telegraph had quoted an eyewitness, who also said, “They landed short of him, and it wasn’t clear what exactly the man was protesting about.”

Tony Blair: It was not just a shoe for former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. He was egged as well. Skirmishes broke out between protesters and police at the first public signing for Blair’s memoirs, with shoes and eggs hurled at the former prime minister, The Guardian had reported .

Arvind Kejriwal: Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal had a shoe thrown at him on 18 October, 2011 in Lucknow. The Times of India had reported that it was the second attack on a Team Anna member after Prashant Bhushan was attacked in his Supreme Court lawyer’s chamber for his remarks on Jammu and Kashmir.

Rahul Gandhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has not been spared either. On 23 January, 2012, a shoe was thrown at him during an election rally in Dehradun. IBN-Live reported that as the security personnel and Congress supporters grabbed Kuldip, the culprit, Gandhi was heard saying “don’t hit him”.

Nitin Gadkari: A youth was detained by police on 6 October, 2014, after he tried to hurl a shoe at Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at an election rally in Pune. The incident occurred when Gadkari arrived in Pune for the rally held in support of BJP candidate Medha Kulkarni. Kothrud police said the person detained appeared to be in an inebriated state and was being questioned.

(With inputs from PTI)