Rahul Gandhi (left) and Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Credit: PTI Photos
Guwahati: Alleging that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is behaving like a king and was involved in corruption, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said his party's babbar shers (tiger workers) would send the former to jail soon.
"The CM here does not behave like a CM and considers himself to be the monarch of Assam, for 24 hours, he remains busy in giving your properties and land to Adani and Ambani," Rahul said in the poll-bound state.
Addressing a rally at Chaygaon in Kamrup district, about 30kms from here, Rahul said, "Today if you hear him on TV, you can make out the fear in his voice. Because he knows one day, Congress babbar shers (tigers) will catch him and put inside the jail. He knows he will have to reply regarding the corruption he and his family has done. Today I'm saying media will show the CM going to jail. PM Narendra Modi or Amit Shah will not be able to save, he'll be inside jail."
Hours before Rahul's jibe, Sarma, in a post on X claimed that in a closed door meeting with the Opposition party's political affairs committee, the Congress leader said that he would be send to jail.
"He came all the way to Assam just to say this, conveniently forgetting that he himself is out on bail in multiple criminal cases registered across the country. My best wishes to you, Rahul ji. Enjoy the hospitality in Assam for the rest of the day," Sarma further posted.
The Rahul-Sarma face-off took place at a time Assam is gearing up for the Assembly elections slated early next year.
Congress recently appointed its deputy leader in the Lok Sabha and MP from Assam, Gaurav Gogoi, as president of the party's state unit.
Gaurav, the son of former CM Tarun Gogoi, also alleged that Sarma and his family was involved in corruption and was capturing land to hand them over to Adani and Ambani. "This time, there'll be a fight, we'll fight and win," Gogoi said in his address just before Rahul.
After Rahul's meeting, Sarma in a social media post said, "Rahul Gandhi visited Assam today solely to criticise me. He mentioned my name repeatedly in all his meetings. I must say, I am grateful—because today, he has elevated my political stature to a level I might never have reached had I remained in the Congress party. It is indeed a day of great satisfaction. After all, if Rahul Gandhi has chosen to criticise me, it is a clear sign that I must be doing something right for the people of Assam."
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretar KC Venugopal also flayed Sarma and the BJP-led government for corruption.
EC-BJP working together
Meanwhile, Gandhi also alleged that Election Commission was not performing its duties properly and was listening to BJP and its leaders only. "In Maharastra, they created one crore new voters, who voted for BJP only. We complained to the Election Commission. It didn't do anything. We asked for videography details but did not get reply. In Bihar, also they have removed a large number voters from the electoral rolls, who are voters of Congress and RJD. These voters are poor labourers and farmers. They may try similar thing here in Assam too. We all must be alert about this," Gandhi told the party workers.