Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, saying that his party “needs Rahul Gandhi during the elections”.
Sarma made the remarks in connection with his statement that the Assam government will arrest Rahul Gandhi after this year's Lok Sabha elections.
"We have filed an FIR. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) will conduct the investigation and he (Gandhi) will be arrested after the Lok Sabha elections'', Sarma said on Wednesday on the the sidelines of a programme at Nazira in Sibsagar district.
This was after the Assam police took suo moto cognizance of alleged violence during Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and registered an FIR against a host of Congress leaders.
{{/usCountry}}This was after the Assam police took suo moto cognizance of alleged violence during Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and registered an FIR against a host of Congress leaders.
{{/usCountry}}The police have clamped sections that deal with criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, rioting, assault or criminal force to deter public servants from discharging their duty, damaging public property and others.
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Responding to the chief minister's statement, Congress MP Abdul Khaleque dared Sarma to arrest them right away and accused the BJP leader of using the police for political gains.
“If he has the courage to arrest, do it now. Why after the Lok Sabha elections. He is using the state police for his political gains,” he said.
Earlier, Gandhi stepped up his attack on Sarma during a public meeting in Barpeta district on Wednesday, labelling him as the "most corrupt CM" in the country and levelling a series of allegations related to land and areca nut trade.
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"I don't know how Himanta Biswa Sarma got the idea that he can intimidate me by filing cases. File as many cases as you can. File 25 more cases; I am not going to be intimidated. The BJP-RSS can't intimidate me," the former Congress president said.
"I gave a speech against (Narendra) Modi's special friend (Gautam) Adani, and a case was filed against me. Then they threw me out of Parliament and took away my government residence. I gave the keys myself; I don't want it. My home is in the heart of every Indian citizen; I live there. I have lakhs of houses in Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and all other states," he asserted.