Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has directed filing of a criminal case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of “provoking the crowd” during a clash between Congress workers and the police on the outskirts of Guwahati on Tuesday.
The clash occurred after Rahul Gandhi was denied entry into Guwahati, leading to injuries to Congress Assam chief Bhupen Borah and party leader Jakir Hussain Sikdar.
Responding to the incident, Himanta Biswa, in a social media post, criticised what he termed “Naxalite tactics” and said that they are alien to Assam’s culture.
“These are not part of Assamese culture. We are a peaceful state. Such ‘Naxalite tactics’ are completely alien to our culture. I have instructed the DGP of Assam Police to register a case against your leader Rahul Gandhi for provoking the crowd and use the footage you have posted on your handles as evidence. Your unruly behaviour and violation of agreed guidelines have resulted in a massive traffic jam in Guwahati now,” Sarma posted.
During a press conference in Assam, Gandhi hit back at Biswas, stating, “Whatever the Chief Minister of Assam is doing against the Yatra, it is benefiting the Yatra. The main issue in Assam has now become ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’. The message of our journey is reaching the villages. The public is seeing that Rahul Gandhi is being stopped from going to the temple, from talking to the students.”
Rahul Gandhi further stated that the Assam CM is one of the most corrupt CMs in the country. “Wherever I move around the state, everyone complains about unemployment, inflation, corruption, and farmers’ struggles. That is the situation, and we are raising these issues,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra faced obstacles in entering Guwahati, with heavy police deployment and the Yatra being denied entry into the city centre.Congress workers was seen breaking barricades, attempting to enter Guwahati. In response, the police used lathi charge to disperse the crowd, escalating tensions.
Rahul Gandhi claimed he was denied interaction with students, alleging efforts to suppress the freedom of students in the North East and India. He accused the Home Minister of instructing the Chief Minister to prevent him from meeting students in Assam.
“We are being stopped everywhere. The Home Minister of the country picked up the phone and called CM Himanta and said that Rahul Gandhi should not meet the students of Assam. That’s not important whether Rahul Gandhi comes here or not. What’s important is that the students must be allowed to listen to whomever they want to. But it is not happening in any schools and colleges in Assam. You are being told that you cannot speak your language. You are being told that you cannot have your history,” he said, as per an ANI report