The BJP, however, claimed that Gandhi was rattled after “Jai Shri Ram” and “Modi, Modi” slogans were raised in his presence.
Guwahati: A large number of people on Sunday carried posters of ‘Rahul Gandhi go back’ and ‘Anyaya Yatra’ to mark their protest against Rahul Gandhi in the Ambagan area of Nagaon. Earlier, the Congress leader was by a crowd chanting “Jai Shri Ram” and “Modi, Modi” slogans. Meanwhile, the Congress alleged that its leaders were “attacked” during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra by BJP supporters 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.
#WATCH | Assam: A large number of people carrying posters of ‘Rahul Gandhi go back’ and ‘Anyaya Yatra’ held a protest against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Ambagan area of Nagaon this evening. pic.twitter.com/e4fFIwqFSa
— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2024
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.
(With PTI Inputs)