BJP will win all constituencies covered by Rahul during Yatra: Himanta

Guwahati, Jan 25 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday claimed that the BJP will win all constituencies covered by Rahul Gandhi during the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in the state.

"The BJP will win wherever he campaigns. The BJP needs him for that reason," Sarma said in an interaction with the media here.

The former Congress president will be arrested after the Lok Sabha elections, the chief minister said.

The Assam police has filed a case against Gandhi and several other Congress leaders for allegedly provoking supporters to break barricades to enter Guwahati city, deviating from the approved route during the Yatra.

Karnataka Congress leader Priyank Kharge wondered on why Gandhi is not being arrested now if he has broken the law.

In the post, Kharge said, ''Why wait for the Lok Sabha elections @himantabiswa ji? If @RahulGandhiji has broken the law, why don't you go ahead and do the needful? "You won't do that, because you are fully aware that he speaks the truth, you did not stand up for your neighbours in Manipur and are looting the people of Assam. He is merely echoing people's sentiments which scares you''.

In reply, Sarma said, ''We need Rahul Gandhi during election, Brother.'' Following Sarma's reply, the Karnataka MLA said. ''Bhaisaab! Even after ten years, you need your star campaigners Godhi media, CBI, IT, ED. Take them out of the equation and you will see your castles crumbling.

''Your leader cannot sit through a press conference nor address without a teleprompter, forget about doing a Padyatra with the people,'' he said.

Sarma alleged that the holding of the Yatra in Assam during the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony was a political conspiracy to create communal tension.

"On the day of the Pran Pratistha ceremony in Ayodhya, he (Gandhi) had chosen to travel through minority-dominated districts of Nagaon and Morigaon to provoke a communal clash," he alleged.

"We got a glimpse of his intention to create disturbances in Guwahati, but we foiled such attempts. The state government has to keep the law and order situation under control," Sarma said.

Asked if he had a personal grudge against the Congress leader, the chief minister said, ''Yes, I don't like Rahul Gandhi. It is personal, but this will be reflected politically when the party gets less votes than it did in 2019 and the Congress is defeated in most constituencies by huge margins of votes''.

The chief minister also said that a media organisation has claimed that Gandhi was using a ''body double'' during his bus journey which means that the person sitting in the bus and waving at the people from the window was ''probably not Rahul Gandhi at all'.

Asked whether Gandhi had really used a ''body double'', Sarma said it was for the media to check and find out the truth.

Regarding Gandhi not being allowed to visit the birthplace of Assamese icon Srimanta Sankardeva at Batadrava, the chief minister said that nobody stopped him from visiting the sattra (Vaishanavite monastery) "He was merely asked to go after 3 pm and not during the Pran Pratistha of the Ram Temple as the entire atmosphere was emotionally charged with the momentous occasion. Gandhi's arrogance, however, could not accept this suggestion and he created a situation to attract media attention," he said.

Sarma claimed that the Congress leader was not interested in going there as he was not dressed for the occasion.

"He was wearing a T-shirt when men were allowed to enter the sattra wearing the traditional dhoti and kurta,'' the chief minister said.

He said that if Gandhi had regard for Assam's icons, he would have visited Ahom commander Lachit Barphukan's resting place, Bhupen Hazarika's memorial and Hajo's Poa Mecca and Hayagriva Temple which symbolises communal amity.

''In fact, a recce was also done by security forces at Kamakhya Temple but Gandhi chose not to visit the holy shrine,” Sarma said.

He claimed that the Congress has lost its values as was evident from this Yatra.

The party has now shifted from the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi to that of urban Naxals.

The Chief Minister also showed photographs of the container accompanying Gandhi during the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Jatra' in Assam.

"It is a five-star Yatra which we cannot even imagine. There is a full-fledged dining room and he (Gandhi) did not even eat the meals prepared by the Congress workers at different places,'' Sarma claimed.

The Congress Yatra, which began on January 18 in the state, concluded on Thursday, and the march entered West Bengal. PTI