He claimed that even PM Modi can control the violence in the Northeastern state within three days with the help of the Army, but the BJP doesn’t want to do it.
Published Date – 21 January 2024, 09:58 PM
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi waves at supporters upon his arrival at Kalpetta in Wayanad, April 11, 2023. (File Photo)
Nagaon: The Congress on Sunday alleged that its leaders were “attacked” during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra by BJP supporters, with Rahul Gandhi, who was heckled by a crowd chanting “Jai Shri Ram” and “Modi, Modi” slogans, asserting that his party is neither scared of the prime minister nor the Assam chief minister.
As political temperatures soared in the state on the eve of the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, the opposition party alleged that its leaders, including Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh and Assam unit chief Bhupen Kumar Borah, were targeted at the behest of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and hurdles were being created “every hour” for the Yatra which re-entered Assam from Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday.
After a group of BJP workers chanted “Jai Shri Ram” and raised “Modi, Modi” slogans in front of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra bus in Nagaon, the Congress leader waved, gave flying kisses and stepped down to meet them but was quickly escorted back by the security personnel amid jostling.
“Our ‘Mohabbat ki dukaan’ (shop of love) is open for everyone. ‘Judega Bharat, Jeetega Hindustan’,” Gandhi said in a post on X while sharing a video of the incident.
Gandhi later also said at a public meeting that “around 20-25 BJP workers carrying sticks came in front of our bus, and when I came out from the bus, they ran away”.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s vehicle was allegedly attacked and reporters accompanying the party’s yatra were “manhandled” by unknown men in Sonitpur district, All India Congress Committee (AICC) communications coordinator Mahima Singh claimed.
According to Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) spokesperson Bedabrata Bora, a mob stopped Assam Pradesh Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah’s car as he was driving to join the yatra’s main entourage after a brief break and he was punched in the nose which led to bleeding, while another party worker suffered serious injuries and has been hospitalised.
“Our Sonitpur district president has already filed a police complaint,” Bora said.
In his address at the public meeting, Gandhi narrated his experience and said the Congress is neither scared of Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Assam Chief Minister Sarma.
The BJP, however, claimed that Gandhi was rattled after “Jai Shri Ram” and “Modi, Modi” slogans were raised in his presence.
“On the eve of Shri Ram Lalla’s Pran Pratishtha, Ram Bhakts have every right to chant Jai Shri Ram. Rahul Gandhi shouldn’t lose his cool and be allergic to the chanting of Jai Shri Ram. He cannot instigate violence and threaten the public in this manner,” Chief Minister Sarma said in a post on X.
Earlier, Sarma told reporters that commandos will be deployed along sensitive routes of minority-dominated areas to be taken by Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
“If this is how rattled he (Gandhi) is, how will he face the people of this country in days ahead, after the anti-Hindu Congress rejected the invite to be part of the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (January 22 Ram temple consecration ceremony ) in Ayodhya?” BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said on X.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said some people chanted “‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Modi, Modi” during the yatra “so Rahul Gandhi arrogantly charges at them”.
“Security personnel stopped him. ‘Mohabbat ki dukaan’ or ‘Ahankaar ki Dukaan’ (shop of arrogance) Shameful and atrocious behaviour by an entitled dynast! He even made kissing actions to the crowd!!” he said on X.
At the public meeting, Gandhi said, “Some 2-3 kms before, around 20-25 BJP workers carrying sticks came in front of our bus, and when I came out from the bus, they ran away…they think that the Congress is scared of BJP and RSS workers.” “What kind of dream are they seeing? They can tear as many posters and placards as they want, we don’t care and are not bothered. We are not scared of anybody, we are neither scared of Narendra Modi nor the chief minister here,” he said.
If there was a prime minister of the Congress, the violence in Manipur would have been controlled by the fourth day, Gandhi said.
He claimed that even PM Modi can control the violence in the Northeastern state within three days with the help of the Army, but the BJP doesn’t want to do it.
Meanwhile, the managing committee of the Batadrawa Than in Assam’s Nagaon district has asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to visit the place after 3 pm on Monday and not during the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya as several organisations have planned devotional programmes at the premises.
Earlier in the day, Sarma said Gandhi should avoid visiting Batadrawa on January 22 as there can be “no competition” between Lord Ram and the medieval-age Vaishnav saint, but Ramesh had said that Gandhi would visit the Than as planned and no politics should be done over it.
Addressing a press conference, Ramesh, who is accompanying Gandhi, said, “The problem is that the CM here loses his mental balance whenever he hears the name of Congress and Rahul Gandhi. What more can I say about it.” In his speech at the Nagaon public meeting, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge targeted Sarma, saying, “This is something like ‘Meri billi mujh se meow’.” “The cat which once belonged to the Congress is now ‘meowing’ at us,” Kharge said. Sarma had quit the Congress to join the BJP in 2015.
In Kaliabor, the Congress president said “no stone was hurled” and “no one tried to threaten us even though we crossed many BJP-ruled states” during the first Bharat Jodi Yatra.
“Even in Nagpur, which has the RSS headquarters, lakhs of people joined us and there was no incident,” he said.
“Why is it happening in Assam? It is happening here because of Modi ji’s ‘chela’ (disciple), who blindly listens to his ‘sahab’ (boss),” he said.
Targeting PM Modi, he said, “Understand the difference between Congress’ pilgrimage and Modi ji’s pilgrimage! “Our pilgrimage is to take everyone along, Modi ji’s pilgrimage is focused on himself by excluding everyone.” AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said his vehicle was attacked by some BJP protesters.
“My vehicle was attacked a few minutes ago at Jumugurihat, Sunitpur, by an unruly BJP crowd who also tore off the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra stickers from the windshield. They threw water and shouted anti-BJNY (Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra) slogans,” he said.
“But we kept our composure, waved to the hooligans and sped away. This is undoubtedly the Assam CM’s doing. We are not intimidated and will soldier on,” Ramesh said.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said, “Complete lawlessness at display in Assam. All along the yatra route, the CM has stationed his goons to attack the yatra and disrupt our peaceful march for justice.” “He’s completely mistaken to think this will deter us. If anything, this has given us more strength to ensure his and Narendra Modi’s defeat, ” he said.
The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will pass through 100 Lok Sabha constituencies in 15 states, traversing 6,713 km, mostly in buses but also on foot, and culminate in Mumbai on March 20 or 21. It began from Thoubal in Manipur on January 14.
