Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday took a sharp dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the state and party MLAs switching to the BJP saying that his Yatra gave a big boost to BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha Sabha polls.
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Citing the reason for the Congress' unfortunate luck, Sarma said that Gandhi was roaming on the streets of Assam when the pran pratishtha of Lord Ram Lalla took place in the newly built Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya in January this year, which offended the sentiments of all Lord Ram's devotees.
"Rahul Gandhi's Yatra was a big boost for BJP. Because he has chosen a time which was a very, very unfortunate time. When Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha was going on, he decided to come to Assam and offended the sentiment of all Ram devotees," news agency ANI quotes Sarma as saying.
He further took a jibe at the grand old party saying that it was assumed that the Congress leaders were not invited to the mega event but when Rahul Gandhi was taking out his Yatra in Assam during the ceremony, it became clear that he was boycotting the pran pratishtha ceremony.
{{/usCountry}}He further took a jibe at the grand old party saying that it was assumed that the Congress leaders were not invited to the mega event but when Rahul Gandhi was taking out his Yatra in Assam during the ceremony, it became clear that he was boycotting the pran pratishtha ceremony.
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"Earlier people used to hear in the newspaper or television that they had refused the invitation. But on the day of Pran Pratishtha, when people saw Rahul Gandhi in the street of Assam and people clearly realised that he is boycotting the pran pratishtha ceremony," he added.
He further claimed that within the coming years, barring a few MLAs, no other person would remain in Congress party.
"I think the downhill journey of Congress began from that day at least in Assam. And after that, you have seen what is going on, what is happening every day. I am sure that barring 4-5 MLAs, I do not think in days to come, maybe six months, one year, two years, other people will remain in Congress party," he added.
The chief minister's remarks came hours after the working president of the state's Congress unit, Rana Goswami, joined the saffron camp on Thursday, a day after he resigned from the primary membership of his former party.
Goswami, a two-time former MLA from Jorhat, joined the BJP in the presence of Sarma and BJP Assam president Bhabesh Kalita in Guwahati.
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Earlier, Purkayastha, who represents the North Karimganj seat from Congress, quit the post this month and extended support to the BJP government. Another Congress MLA, Basanta Kumar Das, had also extended support to the ruling government this month.
The Congress won 29 out of the 126 seats in the assembly polls held in 2021. But within months, the number was reduced to 27 after two of its legislators resigned from the party and joined the BJP.
(With inputs from agencies)