Congress MP Rahul Gandhi – travelling through Assam’s Morigaon district as part of his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra‘ – has been stopped from holding a street corning meet and a padyatra, or foot march.
The District Magistrate’s office cited “intelligence inputs” that claimed a threat to “peace and tranquility” to deny Rahul Gandhi permission for his events on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headlining the controversial ‘pran pratishtha‘ of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, over 1,200 km away.
District officials claimed “… miscreants may indulge in anti-social activities by taking advantage of two major events on the same day”, referring to Mr Gandhi’s yatra in Assam and the event in Uttar Pradesh.
“With deepest concern for the safety and security of Rahul Gandhiji… along with our responsibility to avert any possible law and order disruption… we would like you to refrain from holding the proposed street corner meeting… we would like to request you to not stop his vehicle during the roadshow…”
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Denial of permission to Mr Gandhi and the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ comes shortly after he alleged state authorities had barred him from visiting the Batadrava Satra Temple in Nagaon district.
READ | Rahul Gandhi, Denied Entry In Temple, Asks “What Crime Have I Committed?”
Mr Gandhi questioned the restrictions imposed on him, stating, “We want to visit the temple. What crime have I committed that I cannot visit the temple?”
On Sunday Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged Mr Gandhi to reconsider his yatra route, claiming concerns over (unspecified) clashes with the Ram Temple consecration ceremony.
“I urge Rahul Gandhi to not create a notion there is a competition between Ram Temple and Batadrava Satra because TV channels will be flashing Ram Temple ‘pran pratishtha‘ ceremony and him visiting Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva’s birthplace. This won’t be good for Assam.”
READ | “Won’t Be Good For Assam”: Himanta Sarma On Rahul Gandhi’s Rally
The Assam Chief Minister and the Congress have been at fierce odds since the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ entered the state, with each side taking swats at each other over corruption, and the Ram Temple event, which the opposition party has criticised as a “political event” orchestrated by the BJP.
“It is difficult for us (the Congress) to attend the January 22 function because it is a ‘Modi function’. They (the BJP) always give an election flavour to all events and developments, including religious ones. We respect all religions and all religions are the same to us,” Mr Gandhi had said earlier.
To this Mr Sarma said, “Your political associates have boycotted the event, turning it into a political function, which it is not. If Congress attends the event and sits in the front row, there will be no politics.”
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