In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president Mallikarjun Kharge sought Shah’s involvement to safeguard Rahul Gandhi and others on their Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the day after a skirmish between Congress members headed by Gandhi and Assam police forces on the outskirts of Guwahati.
This comes after the Assam Police had already filed a FIR linking the event to Mr. Gandhi and other members of the Congress party. Criminal plot, unlawful assembly, and breach of peace are among the several accusations leveled against them. The filing of the complaint was prompted, according to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, by the fact that the “naxalite tactics” used by Congress workers are not in line with Assamese culture.
In his email with the Home Minister, Mr. Kharge covered “several instances where the Assam Police has been found wanting in providing adequate security” in relation to Mr. Gandhi’s position as a Z+ protectee. Further, he said that on January 21, members of the Bhupen Borah political party assaulted the head of the state party, damaged posters belonging to the Congress party, and obstructed the Congress yatra.
“In all of the disturbing incidents mentioned above, the police force of Assam has deliberately stood by and/or allowed members of the BJP to come increasingly near to the vehicle of Shri. Rahul Gandhi, violating his security surround, and exposing his physical wellbeing and that of his team,” said Mr. Kharge.
He said that while evidence existed in the public domain, no one had been apprehended in connection with these cases. India guarantee that no such unexpected incident occurs which may lead to serious physical harm to Shri. Rahul Gandhi or anyone else who is part of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,” the politician told reporters.
Congress leaders have claimed that Mr. Sarma is interfering with the yatra. Yesterday, police in Guwahati blocked Congress workers from accessing city roadways, leading to a conflict at the city’s municipal limits. The authorities had previously denied the yatra permission to use the city’s major roadways due to congestion concerns. Law enforcement clashed with congress staffers who tried to climb the barricades after seeing the grounds for rejecting access as unjustified.
The Union Home Minister was informed by Jairam Ramesh, the Congress party’s national secretary, about the serious security issues that Rahul Gandhi and the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra had in Assam the last few days in a letter that Kharge had sent.
As far as Kharge is concerned, Rahul, who is Z+ protected, deserves sufficient protection. In addition, he brought up the incident when BJP activists attacked the state president of the Congress, Bhupen Borah, on January 21, after they had obstructed their yatra, and the defacement of state-wide Congress posters.
In a letter submitted to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday night, Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted his concerns after the compromising of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s security during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam. Members of the Congress party and the Assam Police got into a violent altercation on Tuesday as security agents tried to stop the march from reaching the highways of Guwahati.
