In his first rally since protests broke out in Assam over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Saturday said that the northeastern state might return to the path of violence because of the BJP government's policies at the Centre and in the state. Addressing a rally in Guwahati, Rahul said, "I fear that because of BJP, Assam has taken to violence again," he said referring to the new citizenship law. He also said that the Congress would not allow the BJP to attack the culture, language and identity of Assam and the northeast. CAA protests LIVE updates LIVE: Shri @RahulGandhi addresses Ashtitwa Rakhyar Samabekh in Guwahati, Assam. #RahulWithAssam — Assam Congress (@INCAssam) December 28, 2019 "The Assam Accord was the foundation of peace in Assam. The spirit of the Assam Accord should not be broken. It was drafted by everyone," he said. "Assam can never progress with hatred and violence. Everyone has to come together and tell the BJP leaders that they can't attack the culture, language, identity and history of the state," Rahul added. Criticising the way the BJP government handled the protests in Assam, the Congress leader said, "BJP’s handling of the situation is all wrong. If the public wants to convey what they feel peacefully, then there is no need to resort to violence or shoot them. The public can be heard with love." He also met the family members of 17-year-old Sam Stafford, who succumbed to bullet injuries during the anti-Citizenship Act protests in Assam on December 12. Speaking on the economic situation of the country, Rahul blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing in demonetisation and GST and destroying the economy of India. "The whole world has recognised that economy is the power of India. Modi destroyed the power of Mother India by implementing demonetisation, GST. Modi doesn't say anything about this. His job is only to divide the people of India and spread hatred," he added. Earlier in the day, he also dubbed the exercises of the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) as notebandi 2 (Demonetisation-2). "The basic idea of these exercises is to ask all poor people whether they are Indian or not. His (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) 15 friends will not have to show any document and the money generated will go into the pockets of those 15 people. This will have twice the impact of demonetisation," Rahul added. (With PTI inputs)
