Assam BJP MP under Cong attack for remarks against Nehru-Gandhi

The Congress has demanded an apology and the immediate arrest of a BJP MP, who referred to the ideas of "Nehru-Gandhi" as 'garbage'.

Two Congress activists received burn injuries today while trying to set on fire an effigy of Jorhat MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa at Moran in upper Assam's Dibrugarh district, police said.

The MP has claimed that his comment at a rally in Sibsagar district on Saturday was "wrongly interpreted" and he was referring to the Gandhi family and not the Mahatma.

He had reportedly said that the Congress had, over the years, instilled "the garbage of Nehru-Gandhi in the minds of people and there was no space for any other ideology."

The comment triggered widespread criticism from the Congress.

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) filed an FIR against Tasa yesterday, alleging that he had made "derogatory comments" against Mahatma Gandhi and the three former prime ministers.

The FIR was lodged at Bhangagarh police station by APCC general secretaries Imdad Hussain and Mukul Sarma who also demanded immediate arrest of the BJP MP.

The protests continued today in Diburgarh. The injured youths were rushed to the Assam Medical College Hospital in Dibrugarh, where doctors said their condition was stable.

APCC president and Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora demanded that Tasa apologise for "insulting" Mahatama Gandhi.

"His derogatory statement indicates his poor knowledge about the history of India's freedom struggle," said Bora.

Leader of opposition in state legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, made a similar demand.

Tasa, however, said he meant no disrespect to Mahatma Gandhi during his speech at the rally, also attended by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal,"I cannot dream of making such a statement against the Father of the Nation. I had said a lot of garbage has been drilled in the names of Nehru and Gandhi and was referring to the Gandhi family and not the Mahatma," he added.