A high-octane drama unfolded on Guwahati limits as Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra tried to enter Assam’s capital on Tuesday to continue the yatra.
Around 5,000 Congress workers clashed with a huge contingent of state police which was deployed to prevent the Congress rally from hitting Guwahati arterial roads.
Visuals from the scene showed a number of Congress supporters, many of them bearing party flags, scuffling with police personnel and attempting to break barricades while Rahul Gandhi looked on from a distance.
Addressing a gathering in the wake of the incident, the Gandhi scion said, “Bajrang Dal and JP Nadda ji’s rallies were taken through this route. But they are stopping us. We Congress workers are strong, we have broken barricades but will not break the law.”
The people of Assam, he said, are being suppressed. “My student interaction (in Meghalaya) was cancelled, the authorities were told not to allow students to meet me. Despite that, they came to meet me outside,” he said.
The Himanta Biswa Sarma government had denied permission for the Yatra to move through arterial roads in Guwahati citing that it was a working day in Guwahati and allowing the yatra to move through key city roads may lead to traffic snarls. The state administration asked the rally to take the national highway route as it moves towards lower Assam.
The decision led to a significant police presence at Khanapara crossing, the entry point to the city, where scuffles broke out between Congress supporters and law enforcement.
Also Read: Case against Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra over route deviation in Assam
The Congress has alleged that the Himanta Biswa Sarma government is creating hurdles in the yatra led by Gandhi. “Since our entry in Assam, the most corrupt CM in India has been carrying out relentless attacks on our convoys, properties and leaders using his goons,” it has said.
The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which has been making its way through the Northeast, has faced several roadblocks in BJP-ruled Assam. Rahul Gandhi was also denied entry to the shrine at Sankardeva’s birthplace in Nagaon district on Monday. A case has also been registered against the Yatra over allegations of route diversion.
Moreover, an interactive session with students at the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, was cancelled after permission was withdrawn by local authorities.