Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma responded to allegations raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the election campaigns regarding ED raids on corrupt Opposition figures. The CM accentuated the mindset of common people, who will focus on developmental issues rather than allegations surrounding law enforcement actions.
CM Himanta, during a press conference, dismissed the relevance of discussions surrounding ED and CBI raids, stating, “ED and CBI are associated with criminals or probable criminals and the common people are not concerned about it.”
He stressed the need to shift the narrative away from sensationalised legal proceedings towards tangible matters affecting the people.
CM Himanta further suggested, “Gandhi is addressing an ecosystem for criminals with which the ED and CBI deal, but this cannot be an election campaign.”
Apart from Rahul Gandhi, he took a swipe at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and remarked he was a ‘dishonest politician’, who has played with the media for long and duped people in the name of ‘mohalla clinics’ and schools.
“Kejriwal is not a person as he projects himself to be. He has been boasting of mohalla clinics but in Assam, we have much better hospitals and health facilities… When I visited the slums in Delhi, there were hardly any proper educational facilities,” remarked CM Himanta.
Regarding allegations against Rahul Gandhi using a body double during the Nyay Yatra in Assam, the issue first raised by a television channel on January 22, the CM suggested, “Congress should have issued a press release and clarified whether it was a body double or a look-alike.”
Not divulging name of the alleged “body double or look alike”, Dr Himanta continued, “The very next day, however, the person was sent by flight to Delhi and the next day he reached Bhopal by train” and he was “there during the Nyay Yatra from January 18 to 22. He was even seen playing cricket in Majuli”.
He further alleged Congress Deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi’s anger against Rahul Gandhi emanated “for not getting Nagaon seat ticket. Resultantly, Gogoi intentionally raised the issue of the body double”.
Looking ahead to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, CM Himanta expressed confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. He remarked this political event will be between PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi and “it will not take people a minute to decide who they will vote for”.
“There is no doubt that Modi will be the Prime Minister for the third time. The candidates are not a point of consideration as people will see the PM in the face of BJP contestants”, he stated.
The PM is the “main architect of the whole development and transformation that Bharat has undergone during the last 10 years. We are mere small actors on the sidelines,” added CM Himanta, who is set to launch fresh way of campaigning in Assam by not attacking the opponents but by using “politics as a tool of development”.
“BJP will adopt a constructive election campaign by visiting the villages and booths to find out people not receiving the benefit of the numerous government schemes. We will not promise them we will deliver them,” he assured.
Besides, a political and socio-economic analysis will be conducted so that “we can end discrimination and prepare a solid model for the development and welfare of the people by the Assembly elections of 2026,” concluded CM Himanta.
