Senior Assam Congress leader Debabrata Saikia on Saturday alleged that the city police administration has refused to permit the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra through Guwahati.
Debabrata Saikia, who is the leader of opposition in the Assam legislative assembly, said that he had written to deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Intelligence of Guwahati Commissionerate seeking permission for the same.
However, when he called up for an update, he was informed that the Yatra will only be allowed on the national highway touching areas like Khanapara, Basistha, Lokhra, Garchuk, etc.
Moreover, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is spearheading the Yatra, was invited to Guwahati Press Club at Ambari, which has also been denied by the police, alleged Saikia.
Meanwhile, the Congress today blasted Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for orchestrating an attack on the vehicles of the Congress supporters and damaging of posters, banners and hoardings relating to the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Lakhimpur on Saturday.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge while condemning the incidents of vandalism wrote on X (earlier Twitter), “We strongly condemn the shameful attack on the #BharatJodoNyayYatra vehicles and tearing of Congress party's banners and posters by BJP goons in Lakhimpur, Assam”.
He observed that during the last 10 years, the BJP has attempted to trample and demolish every right and justice guaranteed by the Constitution to the people of India. “It wants to subjugate their voices, thereby hijacking Democracy”, he said, while asserting, “Congress Party will not be cowed down by this tactic of attack and intimidation employed by the BJP Government in Assam, which is responsible for this”.
He said, the Congress party will take appropriate legal action against these BJP stooges.
Maintaining that the BJP was feeling nervous over the success of the Nyay Yatra and hence resorting to such cheap tactics, Congress general secretary in charge organization, KC Venugopal while referring to the incidents pointed out, “want more evidence of how scared #MostCorruptCMHimanta is of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra? Look at his goons vandalise our Congress posters and vehicles!”
Taunting the Assam Chief Minister for trying to show too much loyalty towards the BJP, the Congress general secretary Communications, Jairam Ramesh urged the BJP president JP Nadda, that he (Nadda) should tell Sarma that he does not need to give more proof of his loyalty for the BJP and the RSS and that the Nyay Yatra should be allowed to take the same route which was taken by Nadda himself earlier.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here today, senior leader and party treasurer Ajay Maken said that being a neo-convert to the BJP, the Assam Chief Minister Sarma was trying to be more loyal than the king and going overboard to show his loyalty towards the BJP by orchestrating such attacks.
But, he warned, the Congress will not be scared or intimidated. He said, Sarma was a coward who got scared with just one CBI notice and he ran away to join the BJP.
Maken also showed the CCTV recordings of how the BJP workers were vandalising the vehicles of the Congress supporters, tearing away the posters and bringing down the hoardings.
The Congress treasurer said, this only proved that the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra was proving to be a great success and the Assam Chief Minister Sarma was feeling frustrated. The attack on the Nyay Yatra was the sign of his frustration, he remarked, while asserting that the Yatra will continue and return to Assam once it completes its Arunachal Pradesh lap.
