Will never implement CAA, says Rahul Gandhi as he kicks off Assam poll campaign

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Sunday the controversial citizenship act would not be implemented if his party is elected to power in Assam as he kickstarted the election campaign in the poll-bound northeastern state. Gandhi, who was seen sporting the traditional Assamese gamocha at the poll rally ahead of the assembly elections due later this year, said that he along with all Congress workers would protect the principle of the Assam Accord and not deviate an inch from it.

"No power in the world can break Assam. Whoever will try to touch the Assam Accord or spread hatred, the Congress party and the people of Assam will teach them a lesson together," he said at the Shivnagar boarding field in Sivasagar district, according to news agency ANI.

He attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in his speech, saying that the party, along with the RSS was trying to divide the state, whose consequences would not affect Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union home minister Amit Shah, but the people of Assam and the rest of the country. Gandhi also accused PM Modi of looting public money during the coronavirus pandemic to waive loans for his two friends.

The Congress MP also attacked Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, alleging that he listened to only Delhi and Nagpur, rather than the people of the state. "Remote control can operate the TV, not CM. You need your own CM who listens to your problems but current Assam CM only listens to Nagpur, Delhi," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Gandhi promised to increase the daily wages of the tea workers of Assam. He said that while Assamese tea workers got ₹167 per day as wages, traders in Gujarat got tea gardens. He promised to increase the wages of tea garden workers in the state to ₹365 per day and said that the money would come from Gujarat's traders. "Assam's tea garden workers get ₹167 per day wage while traders in Gujarat get tea gardens. We promise to give tea garden workers of Assam ₹365 per day wage. Where will the money come from? It will come from Gujarat's traders," he said.

Gandhi heaped praise on former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi. He said that each time he visited Assam, Gogoi would impart his knowledge about the state on every journey. He also said that Gogoi was the one whose government united the people of Assam and brought an end to the violence in the state at the time.

Ripun Bora, the president of Congress’ Assam unit, had announced the grand old party's allies for the state's upcoming assembly elections. "In upcoming Assam assembly polls, Congress, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI (Marxist), CPI (Marxist-Leninist) and Anchalik Gana Morcha will fight together to oust BJP. We will keep our doors open for other regional and anti-BJP parties to join us," he has said on January 20.

(With agency inputs)