Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and asked mediapersons why they are talking about “Ravan” today when the entire country is celebrating Ram Lalla’s “Pran Pratistha” in Ayodhya.
“Why are you talking about Ravan today? At least today talk about Lord Ram. After 500 years, we are talking about Lord Ram,” Sarma said.
Sarma’s remark came as Gandhi was stopped at Haibargaon en route to the sattra (Sankardeva’s birthplace) where he along with senior Congress leaders and supporters staged a dharna.
The Wayanad MP and other Congress leaders also sang various bhajans including the famous “Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram” during their protest.
“During a law and order crisis, everyone can go to the birthplace of Vaishnav saint Srimanta Sankardeva, only Rahul Gandhi cannot go,” Gandhi said.
#WATCH | Nagaon, Assam | Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, and others sing ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ as they sit on a protest against not being allowed to visit Batadrava Than before 3 pm today. pic.twitter.com/8Y9fszZ8j0— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2024
Gandhi questioned the police on why he was being stopped from visiting the sattra. “Will PM Modi now decide who will visit a temple and when,” he asked.
“We do not want to create any problems, simply pray at the sattra,” he told police. Tight security arrangements, deployment of a huge police force, and blockade of roads were in force around the sattra.
In a video, the former Congress chief was seen saying to a security official “What is the issue brother? Can I go and see the barricades? What mistake I have made that I am not allowed inside the temple?”
VIDEO | “What is the issue brother? Can I go and see the barricades? What mistake I have made that I am not allowed inside the temple?” Congress leader @RahulGandhi tells a security official as he is stopped from visiting Assam’s Batadrava Than, the birthplace of saint Srimanta… pic.twitter.com/WAK3ryrAVt— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 22, 2024
‘This is strange as there is a law and order situation in the area, but Gaurav Gogoi and all can go but only Rahul Gandhi cannot go’, Gandhi said. “There may be some reason but I will go to Batadrava when I get an opportunity. It is my belief that both Assam and the entire nation should follow the path shown by Sankardeva”, he said to the agency.
‘He is like a guru to us and gives us direction. So I had thought when I came to Assam, I should offer my respects to him’, he said. He said they had received an invitation on January 11 but ‘on Sunday we were told that there is a law and order situation’, he added.
The managing committee of the Sri Sankardeva Sattra on Sunday announced that they will not allow the Congress leader to visit the sattra before 3 pm on January 22 after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier in the day said at a press conference that he requested Gandhi not to visit before the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
(with PTI inputs)
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