Chaygaon (Assam): Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, took a jibe at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on July 16, 2025, claiming that the grand old party had to lend its member so that the BJP could form a government in the state.

During a Party workers’ gathering on his one-day visit to the state, Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge stated, “The BJP had been trying to form the government in Assam for decades, but were not able to do so. It was only after borrowing a member from us and making him the Chief Minister, they could form their own government.”

“The man who ran away from the Congress is now the Chief Minister of Assam,” he added. Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge condemned Himanta Biswa Sarma’s recent statement about pig rearing as a means to protect land from a specific religious group, stating, “The CM is spreading venom with such remarks. The law and order is under you, and you are saying such things.” The Congress President accused the current BJP government in Assam of substantial corruption and declared, “Those who have wronged people will be sent to jail. They should repair prisons now, as they will have to stay there.”

Addressing the BJP’s claims of progress under their dual governance at national and state levels, the Congress leader remarked, “What we saw today is that to travel 30 km from Guwahati, it took us two hours. Is this the development this government claims?”

He stated that Assam’s residents were facing intimidation under the pretext of identifying illegal immigrants, and expressed confidence that voters would respond appropriately to the BJP-led administration in the upcoming election.

The Congress President criticized the BJP regarding a recent Gir cows allocation controversy, stating that whilst they claim to worship cows, they have proven to be ‘cow thieves’ in this instance. He warned that the BJP administration might employ strategies like voter list modifications and constituency delimitation against Congress in Assam, and advised Party members to remain watchful.

He outlined that a Congress government would ensure children’s education, employment for Assam’s youth and optimal wages for tea garden workers. He cautioned that Dalits, SC, ST and OBC communities need to be vigilant, as their reservations could be eliminated by the central BJP government. Criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President pointed out his five-nation tour whilst failing to spare two hours for troubled Manipur. He remarked on Modi’s recent distribution of appointment letters, noting that leaders like “Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao or their own Vajpayee” never engaged in such activities.

He emphasized that national security should be the Prime Minister’s primary focus. Congress President questioned the BJP’s legacy, comparing it to Nehru’s era of establishing major factories and PSUs, suggesting the current government lacks memorable achievements. He accused Modi of enabling his associates to exploit the poor whilst securing benefits for himself and his party.

He stressed the importance of collective action to preserve the Constitution. He stated that the Constitution underpins democracy, accusing RSS and BJP of attempting to alter it. Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge encouraged Party workers to unite under new State President Gaurav Gogoi to defeat the current government in the upcoming election.

Assam CM will go to jail after Assembly polls for ‘large-scale graft’: Shri Rahul Gandhi

Chaygaon (Assam): The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi, on July 16, 2025, said Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will be in jail for “stealing people’s lands” and “large-scale corruption” after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) loses the State polls in 2026.

Addressing a Party rally at Chaygaon, about 40 km southwest of Guwahati, he said that the Congress would sweep the elections because of the BJP’s “politics of hate and violence”, and the groundwork done by the Assam Pradesh Congress President Shri Gaurav Gogoi and his team.

“Soon, the media will show your Chief Minister going to jail and neither (Prime Minister) Modi nor (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah can save him,” Leader of Opposition (LS) Shri Rahul Gandhi said. “When you go home and see him (Mr. Sarma) on TV, observe his eyes. They convey fear from the depths of his heart because he knows the Congress will put him in jail. He knows he will be answerable for the corruption he and his family have indulged in,” he said.

Referring to a series of eviction drives across the State, Shri Rahul Gandhi said the youth, farmers, and daily wage earners of Assam wanted to see the Chief Minister behind bars because “they know he is corrupt, and steals land from the people 24 hours a day for a solar park or resort.”

Thousands of acres of land had been taken from the poor, and farmers were being given to “Adani, Ambani, Ramdev” under one pretext or another, he said. “India’s forest, air, water, and land are being sold to five-six industrialists,” he added.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi also cautioned the people against possible manipulation of the electoral rolls ahead of the Assam election. “The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission of India are working in tandem to change laws and tamper with the voters’ list. They did it in Maharashtra, where one crore voters were added in four months; they are doing it in Bihar with the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls; they will do it in Assam,” he said.

Earlier, Shri Gourav Gogoi said Mr. Sarma was acting like a “real estate broker” and engaging in large-scale land transfers to industrialists from outside the State. “The Chief Minister and his colleagues are dispossessing the poor and the marginalized. The Congress Party in Assam will fight for justice for every citizen suffering under a regime of fear and terror,” he said.