Congress Assam chief injured as Bharat Jodo Yatra convoy is ‘attacked’

When Rahul’s bus passed through the area in Sonitpur’s Jamugurihat where the men wielding flags had gathered, they approached the bus chanting “Modi, Modi”. Rahul could be seen stepping out of the bus when it reached the crowd, and later blowing kisses at them as his bus left the site.

A video of the incident showed Bhupen Borah approaching the crowd, and a man hitting him with his head. Hemanta Koch, a Congress worker, was also injured.

सबके लिए खुली है मोहब्बत की दुकान,
जुड़ेगा भारत, जीतेगा हिंदुस्तान।🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/Bqae0HCB8f

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 21, 2024

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to X and said his vehicle was among those targeted, and alleged that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was responsible for the incident. Subsequently, Sarma directed the Assam Police to register a case and look into the allegations.

आज BJP के कुछ कार्यकर्ता झंडा लेकर हमारी बस के सामने आ गए। मैं बस से निकला, वो भाग गए।

हमारे जितने पोस्टर फाड़ने हैं, फाड़ दो.. हमें कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता।

हमारी विचारधारा की लड़ाई है, हम किसी से नहीं डरते हैं।

न ही नरेंद्र मोदी से, न असम के मुख्यमंत्री से..

: @RahulGandhi जी… pic.twitter.com/syS7BGCBqO

— Congress (@INCIndia) January 21, 2024

The men wielding flags had gathered at an area in Jamugurihat before the yatra’s convoy passed through. As the first vehicle of the convoy approached, some of them tried to pull out a Congress worker who was in it. When a journalist present at the site attempted to capture what was happening, the crowd snatched his GoPro cameras, which he did not get back. Further down the convoy, other vehicles were also allegedly targeted.

AICC communications coordinator for Assam, Mahima Singh, who was in the same vehicle as Jairam Ramesh, said, “They rattled our windows and tore down the stickers on the car.”

Moving through Jamugurihat on Sunday afternoon, the yatra culminated for the day with a massive rally in Kaliabor.

At the rally, Congress leaders lashed out against the BJP.

“We are not scared of anyone – neither (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi nor the Chief Minister. But BJP leaders should explain why today, Assam’s youth don’t get jobs here,” Rahul said in his address to the gathering.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hit out at CM Sarma. “The previous yatra had travelled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. During that time, there was no violence, no one tried to intimidate anyone even though there were several BJP-ruled states on the way… Why is it happening in Assam? It is because he (Sarma) is Modi ji’s chela (disciple),” Kharge said at the rally.

Later in the evening, Rahul was met with chants of “Rahul Gandhi Go Back” at an eatery in Nagaon.

The yatra faced another obstacle when the management committee of Batadrava Than – the birthplace of revered Vaishnavite reformer-saint Srimanta Sankardeva, where Rahul was scheduled to visit Monday morning – wrote to the Congress MLA from Batadrava, saying Rahul should visit the site only after 3 pm, and not in the morning.

The president of the Batadrava Than management committee, in his letter, said thousands of people were expected to gather at the Than on Monday (January 22) morning because of the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya that is set to take place at the same time.

Earlier that day, CM Sarma had also said at a press conference in Guwahati that Rahul should visit Batadrava Than only after the programme in Ayodhya is over, and not in the morning.

“It shouldn’t be like there is a competition between Ram Mandir and Batadrava… That is not good for Assam. So, we request that we would like it if he goes to Batadrava Sattra after the Ram Mandir programme is done… There is no competition, and he should not come and create the image of that competition,” he had said.

He also said the Congress should avoid travelling through parts of Morigaon – a minority-dominated district where the yatra is scheduled to pass through Monday – saying that these are “sensitive areas”.

“These are sensitive areas. So they should be avoided. But I will not ask them to avoid, because then they will say that I am trying to stop them. Police will be deployed to ensure that there is no conflict or clashes,” the CM said.

He had also said that directions have been issued for adequate deployment of police and paramilitary forces in all “sensitive areas” on Monday, and said that he requested people of the state to “maintain their own sensitivity”, advising people to observe the day in their own homes and religious places.

In addition, he announced that the state government issued instructions for all meat and fish shops in the state to remain closed till 4 pm on Monday, and for eateries to not serve non-vegetarian food till 2 pm.

“If someone wants to eat in their homes during the day, they can buy today itself. But I think it’s best to maintain a fast during ‘pran pratishtha’. If the Prime Minister has fasted for 11 days, surely we can maintain a fast for part of a day,” he said.