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‘Delusional thinking’: Pakistan rejects Himanta Sarma's ‘Akhand Bharat’ remark
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday took a dig at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over the party's ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ campaign and said that if he regrets his grandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru) made any mistake, he should instead try to “integrate Pakistan and Bangladesh, and work for Akhand Bharat”.
Following Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's ‘Akhand Bharat’ remark, which he made while taking a dig at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for the grand old party's ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ campaign, Pakistan on Wednesday rejected the BJP leader's statement. Pakistan foreign office said that Sarma's remark is “nothing but a manifestation of the ‘Hindutva’ majoritarian agenda” of the ruling BJP, news agency PTI reported.
“The gratuitous assertion (by Sarma) is nothing but a manifestation of the ‘Hindutva’ majoritarian agenda of the ruling BJP and its revisionist and expansionist mindset that seeks to subjugate the identity and culture of its neighbouring countries as well as its own religious minorities,” a statement issued by Pakistan foreign office said.
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It was evident that BJP political figures, the statement added, engaged in “falsehoods and fantasies” while pointing figures at neighbours since they wanted to divert the attention of the world from the alleged human rights violation in Jammu and Kashmir, the PTI report added.
The statement further stated that the Assam CM's remarks were also a reflection of the BJP's “jaundiced view of history and delusional thinking”.
Earlier on Wednesday as the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ kicked off from Tamil Nadu, Sarma - who has been taking swipes at the Congress party regarding the campaign - told reporters that India is “intact” and “one nation”.
“Congress disintegrated India in 1947. If Rahul Gandhi has any regret that his grandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru) made a mistake, there's no use of Bharat Jodo Yatra in India. Try to integrate Pakistan, Bangladesh and work for Akhand Bharat,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
This was the Assam chief minister's second jibe at Congress and Gandhi over the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ campaign. On Tuesday, he said that India is “connected and united” as a country, and suggested Gandhi to take the campaign in Pakistan.
Congress veteran and MP Jairam Ramesh was quick to hit back at Sarma, saying that he does not take the Assam CM “seriously”. Calling him “boyish and immature”, Ramesh added that since Sarma was with Congress for 20-25 years, he has to prove his loyalty to the saffron camp every day. “He is a recent migrant to the BJP, so he has to make outrageous statements every day,” the MP said.
The ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ will travel 3,570 km, covering as many as 12 states and two Union territories in 150 days. It is seen as a massive mass contact programme by the Congress party with eye on the 2024 general elections.
