‘Provoking Crowd’: CM Himanta Sarma Directs DGP To Register Case Against Rahul Gandhi After Workers Clash With Cops

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said he has instructed DGP GP Singh to register a case against Rahul Gandhi for provoking the crowd to break barricades. Taking to his tw

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said he has instructed DGP GP Singh to register a case against Rahul Gandhi for provoking the crowd to break barricades. Taking to his twitter handle, Sarma said the footage posted by Srinivas on his handles will be used as evidence. “I have instructed @DGPAssamPolice to register a case against your leader @RahulGandhi for provoking the crowd,” the chief minister posted on ‘X’ in response to a post of Youth Congress president Srinivas BV.

“These are not part of Assamese culture. We are a peaceful state. Such ‘naxalite tactics’ are completely alien to our culture,” the chief minister said. “Your unruly behaviour and violation of agreed guidelines have resulted in a massive traffic jam in Guwahati now’, Sarma added.

These are not part of Assamese culture. We are a peaceful state. Such “naxalite tactics” are completely alien to our culture.
I have instructed @DGPAssamPolice to register a case against your leader @RahulGandhi for provoking the crowd & use the footage you have posted on your… https://t.co/G84Qhjpd8h

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 23, 2024

The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra faced resistance as it was stopped by the Assam police from entering the city of Guwahati on Tuesday. This decision triggered protests from Congress workers who broke barricades and raised slogans. The police had to resort to using force in order to stop the Congress supporters from moving forward.

Large crowds had gathered at the Guwahati Chowk in Khanapara and welcomed Gandhi with slogans and drum beats. “We have won as we have broken the barricades,” AICC in-charge for Assam Jitendra Singh said.

Earlier, Sarma had given permission to Rahul Gandhi to proceed with his yatra in Assam on condition that the yatra will not enter the city and will pass from the National Highway (NH-27). The CM had stated that the Yatra would not be permitted to enter the city due to the potential traffic congestion it may cause.

#WATCH | A clash broke out between Police and Congress workers in Assam’s Guwahati, during Congress’ Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/WxitGxup3m

— ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2024

Rahul Gandhi also alleged that he was not allowed to interact with the students in Guwahati and that police asked his yatra to move from the place where he was interacting with the public. He was addressing the crowd while standing on the roof of the bus. “I wanted to come to your university and talk to you, understand what you are facing and try and see in my own little way if I could have helped you. The Home Ministry of India called up the CM of Assam and the CM’s office called up the leadership of your university and said that Rahul Gandhi must not be allowed to speak to the students of this university.”

#WATCH | Guwahati, Assam: During Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says “I wanted to come to your university and talk to you, understand what you are facing and try and see in my own little way if I could have helped you. The Home Ministry of India called up the CM… pic.twitter.com/Jc4uAlOXjx

— ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2024

He further said, “It is not important if Rahul Gandhi comes or does not come. What is important is that you are allowed to listen to anybody you want to listen to. This is not only happening in Assam but in every single university, college or school in India.”

The Yatra, which entered Meghalaya on Monday, returned to Assam for its last leg and will travel through the outskirts of the state’s largest city Guwahati. The Yatra would be in Assam till Thursday.