Clashes broke out between Congress workers and the police on Saturday amid Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Assam’s Guwahati, further intensifying the face-off between the party and the BJP government in the state.
Several Congress leaders accused Assam police of barricading the route and using force to disrupt the march at the behest of the state government. The vehicles in the Yatra convoy were also damaged in alleged stone pelting by “BJP goons,” they said.
Hitting out at the state administration, Rahul Gandhi told the police officers, “You remember one thing, there should be justice in Assam. Because the Chief Minister of Assam is stealing here 24 hours. He is the most corrupt Chief Minister.”
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma condemned Rahul’s remarks as “provocative” and said he has ordered the state DGP to file a case against the Congress leader for “instigating violence through inflammatory speech.” Sarma also blamed the yatra for traffic disruptions in Guwahati.
#WATCH | A clash broke out between Police and Congress workers in Assam's Guwahati, during Congress' Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
— ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2024
More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/WxitGxup3m
The Congress demanded a judicial probe into the “physical assault” on state party chief Bhupen Borah and other leaders. LoP Debabrata Saikia, in a memorandum submitted to the Governor, accused the BJP government of unleashing “lumens to sabotage the yatra by brute physical force and criminal attacks.”
As the political slugfest escalated, Assam Police assured full security to the Bharat Jodo march participants. But Congress alleged no protection was provided on the ground leading to repeated “sponsored attacks.”
The 4-month-old cross-country yatra by Rahul Gandhi aims to highlight issues like price rise and unemployment, while the BJP has termed it as a “turnaround march” driven by failure in electoral politics.
