Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has charged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with inciting violence during an eviction operation in a reserve forest located in the Goalpara district. Sarma asserted that Gandhi motivated “encroachers” and “land jehadis” to unlawfully seize government property during a Congress state-level assembly with party members in Chaygaon. The situation escalated into violence when demonstrators reportedly hurled stones and assaulted police officers with weapons. In response, the police opened fire, leading to injuries among 21 police personnel. One suspected encroacher was killed in the shooting, while two others are presently receiving medical care. The police have initiated a case, and Sarma indicated that Rahul Gandhi’s remarks will be scrutinized.
Rahul Gandhi arrived in Assam to speak at a significant Congress event in Chaygaon. He condemned Sarma for prioritizing large industrialists at the expense of ordinary citizens. Furthermore, he accused the BJP, with assistance from a “compromised” Election Commission, of removing the names of impoverished and farming voters from Assam’s electoral lists.
Sarma has intensified his criticisms of Gogoi since February, alleging connections with Pakistan’s ISI. In March, a Special Investigation Team from Assam Police traveled to Delhi to probe Gogoi’s wife Elizabeth’s professional collaboration with Pakistani climate policy expert Ali Tauqeer Sheikh. Sarma also claimed that nearly 1,000 Facebook accounts originating from Pakistan and Bangladesh are being investigated for allegedly attempting to sway Assam’s political environment in the lead-up to the elections.
