BJP wants to run Assam from Nagpur: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the poll-bound Assam, alleged that the BJP wants to run the state from Nagpur, news agency ANI reported.

In an apparent reference to the RSS, the BJP's ideological fountainhead, the Congress leader said there is "one force in Nagpur that is trying to control the entire country" but the youths must resist this attempt with love and confidence as they happen to be the future of the country.

Gandhi was speaking at a public meeting in Tinsukia, where he arrived after addressing a rally in Dibrugarh earlier in the day. In all his speeches, the Congress leader accused the BJP of inciting hatred to create divisions among different sections of the society.

"No religion has asked to use hatred. Where is it written in Hinduism that there should be 'nafrat' (hatred)? It is BJP that spreads hatred to divide society and wherever they do it Congress goes there to promote love, brotherhood and harmony," the Congress leader told students of Lahowal College in Dibrugarh.

He also accused the saffron party of selling off Assam's resources to outsiders like the tea companies in the state, the Guwahati airport to the Adanis and the tea companies. "Assam's resources and wealth must go into the pockets of the Assamese. The state must be managed in the interest of the people here", news agency PTI quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying.

Notably, issues concerning the tea industry formed a central part of Gandhi's address today to the citizens of Assam. He, along with Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, was also seen stopping at a tea estate in Chubwa to have lunch with the locals.

The Congress leader reminded tea estate workers, at a rally in Dibrugarh's Dinjoy, that the BJP had promised ₹365 daily to tea workers but paid only ₹167.

Promising to mend the 'damages' done by the BJP, Gandhi said that Congress will provide ₹365 daily for tea workers. In addition to that, the party also has four other concrete promises for the state — ensuring that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is not implemented in the state, five lakh jobs, 200 units of free electricity, and ₹2,000 for housewives.

He said the party has prepared a manifesto not in a closed room but after talking to the people. The Congress leader also promised to create a special ministry in Assam for the tea industry, encourage self-employment, and open Mobile Health Clinics in the state.

Assembly elections in Assam for 126 seats will be held in three phases starting on March 27, April 1, and April 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

(With inputs from agencies)