‘Cong manifesto suitable for Pak polls,’ says Himanta; party responds with ‘turncoat’ jibe

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday (April 6) alleged that the Congress' poll manifesto had an agenda to divide society and was more appropriate for elections in neighbouring Pakistan than for India.

The Congress, on the other hand, said a “turncoat” like Sarma would not be able to understand the secular and inclusive ethos of the grand old party, and asserted that its manifesto aims to safeguard the interests of all sections of the society.

Condemning the Grand Old Party’s election manifesto, released on Friday, Sarma said the party was resorting to appeasement politics and wants to divide the society.

“This is politics of appeasement and we condemn it. The manifesto feels like it is not for elections in Bharat but for Pakistan,” Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of an election rally in Assam’s Jorhat constituency.

Sarma said that no person in the country, either Hindu or Muslim, wants the revival of triple talaq or supports child marriage or polygamy.

“The mentality of the Congress is to divide the society and come to power," the BJP leader said.

‘BJP aims to make India vishwa guru’

Sarma asserted that the BJP has taken the form of an 'andolan' and this movement is to make the country the 'vishwa guru' (world leader).

He exuded confidence that the saffron party and its allies would bag all 14 Lok Sabha in the state.

He said positive feedback has been received from Dhubri constituency, regarding which Sarma had earlier been maintaining that the BJP-led alliance's candidate will not be victorious.

Turncoat like you won’t understand: Cong tells Sarma

Reacting to the Sarma’s statement, Assam Congress spokesperson Bedabrata Bora claimed that a “turncoat” like Sarma would not be able to understand the secular and inclusive ethos of the grand old party.

"Sarma had been in the Congress for several years but he could not understand the main ethos of the party. That is why he went to the BJP. Even after being in the BJP for some time now, he still tries to defame Congress to prove his loyalty to the saffron party," Bora told PTI.

The Congress leader asserted that the party's manifesto aims to safeguard the interests of all sections and rubbished the allegations made by Sarma.

Nyay Patra promises

In its manifesto, the Congress focuses on five 'pillars of justice' and 25 guarantees.

Right to apprenticeship, a legal guarantee for MSP, passing a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs, a nationwide caste census and scrapping of the Agnipath scheme are among the promises made by the Congress in the manifesto titled ‘Nyay Patra’.