Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday instructed the Assam Director General of Police (DGP) to register a case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly provoking crowd to break barricades.
The CM also termed the ruckus during ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ as “naxalite tactics alien to Assamese 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 DGP 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 on X.
Earlier in the day, Congress workers clashed with the Assam police when Rahul was stopped from entering Guwahati, which saw heavy security deployment at the entry point, Khanapara area.
Addressing party workers standing atop a bus, Rahul said, “We have broken barricades, but will not break the law.” He also claimed that he was not allowed to interact with students of the state while alleging that an order for the same had come from the Home Minister of the country. “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.
Later addressing a presser, Rahul said the frequent disruptions during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra are aiding in publicity, and the march’s message is reaching every corner of the country. “Clear problem in Assam, chief minister of this state one of the most corrupt CMs in the country… What the Assam CM is doing against the yatra is actually helping the yatra. We are getting the publicity that we may not have got otherwise. The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra has become a main issue in Assam. Preventing from visiting the temple and college… it is their style. Intimidation tactics, we are not intimidated by them, we are not afraid of them.”