"He is not just a BJP leader; he is a CM too...": Ashok Gehlot attacks Assam CM

New Delhi [India], January 19 : Following the Congress's allegation that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Assam government is posing hurdles to its 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', which entered the state earlier this week, Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minster Ashok Gehlot trained his guns at Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, stating that he is not just a BJP leader, he is a CM too and that it is his responsibility to ensure the safety of every citizen.
Congress has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Assam government of posing hurdles to its Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra that entered the state on Thursday.
"Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is being welcomed across the country. He is trying to ensure justice for everyone, whether social or economic. Inflation and unemployment are on the rise in the country. There is an increased gap between the rich and the poor. It is huge issue. At the same time, Rahul Gandhi gathers the courage and decides to conduct a 6,000-kilometer-long yatra. The BJP is alarmed by this," Ashok Gehlot said while speaking to ANI.
"Himanta Biswa Sarmaji is not just a BJP leader; he is a Chief Minister too. It is his responsibility to ensure the safety of every citizen and every person visiting the state, no matter which party they belong to," he added.
Congress General Secretary in Charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh, while addressing a press conference here, claimed that the Himanta Biswa Sarma government is making all efforts to 'ensure that the Bharat Jodo Yatra is not a success'.
"We are in Assam till 25th January. The state government is making all efforts to ensure that the Bharat Jodo Yatra is not a success here. The Assam government is posing hurdles to the yatra, but we have faith that all sections of Assam, including youth and women, will listen to what Rahul Gandhi has to say," he said.
The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered Assam on Thursday.Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at Himanta's government and claimed that perhaps the "most corrupt government" in India is functioning in the state.
Addressing party workers at Halowating in Sivasagar district, where the march entered Assam from Nagaland, Gandhi slammed the ruling BJP and its ideologue Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for "spreading hatred and looting public money".
"Perhaps, the most corrupt government in India is in Assam. We will raise the issues of Assam during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra," he said.
However, earlier on Tuesday, the Assam CM refuted the claim made by several Congress leaders of fixing the date for the form-distribution schedule of the newly announced scheme for rural women in such a manner that it clashes with the Yatra itinerary in those districts and adjoining areas.
He said that he has cancelled all his pre-planned events in the state's upper districts on January 18-19 to avoid a clash with the programmes of Congress during its Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in those areas.
Addressing a press conference here in Guwahati on Tuesday, the Assam CM said that the state government had announced the dates for the distribution of the forms for the welfare schemes even before it was aware of Rahul Gandhi's arrival in the state for his yatra.
"It is Rahul Gandhi's (yatra schedule) that is coinciding with our welfare dates (dates on which forms are to be distributed for a new scheme), not us who planned for this. These dates were declared even before we knew he was coming," Sarma said.
Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra commenced from Manipur's Thoubal on January 14. The yatra will cover over 6,700 kilometres over 67 days, traversing through 110 districts.