Rahul Gandhi denigrated India on foreign soil, says Himanta Sarma; asks if Congress had some understanding with militants

Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 4 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks during a lecture at the Cambridge Judge Business School in United Kingdom and said his speech was "a brazen attempt to denigrate our country on foreign soil" in the guise of targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also attacked Rahul Gandhi over his remarks that the Congress leader saw terrorists from a distance during Bharat Jodo Yatra and a man who came near him pointed them to him.
Sarma, who made a series of tweets, asked why did Rahul Gandhi not report the incident to security agencies.
"Rahul says in Kashmir militants saw him, but he knew they wouldn't target him. Why was this not reported to security agencies? Was there some understanding Congress had with these militants to protect Rahul?" he asked.
The BJP leader said Rahul Gandhi described the Pulwama terror attack as a "car bomb that killed 40 soldiers".
"How dare he insult our jawans? It wasn't a bomb sir, but a terror attack. No surprises that he refused to name Pakistan behind Pulwama attack. Is this part of the understanding Cong had with militants?" Sarma asked.
"First foreign agents target us! Then our own targets us on a foreign land! Rahul Gandhi's speech at Cambridge was nothing but a brazen attempt to denigrate our country on foreign soil in the guise of targeting PM Narendra Modi ji," he added.
Rahul Gandhi in his lecture 'Learning to Listen in the 21st century' at Cambridge University said that during Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kashmir, he was pointed towards terrorists by a man who came near him to talk.
He menitoned the incident while emphasising the power of listening and non-violence.
"People are coming and one guy looks at me and he says, 'Call me. So, I am like, 'Come' ... And the security people said, 'Please do not do this ... please do not call people, because it is putting everyone at risk.' So, he comes and he starts walking next to me. And, he says, 'Mr Gandhi, you have come here to listen to us.' I am like, 'yes'. He said, 'That is interesting.' He is like, 'You really come here to listen to us.' I am like, 'yes' and he is like good. And then he says, 'You see those guys over there?' And we are walking. I ask, 'Who?' He says, 'Those boys over there.' He is like, 'They are militants.' Now militants should normally kill me," Rahul Gandhi said.
"In that environment, militants should kill me. He says they are there and they are looking at you. So, I look at them and they are giving me this sort of look and I am like, okay, I am now in trouble because this guy has just told me this ... They give me this look and I give them this look back and then we carry on. Nothing happens. Why I am telling you this is because they actually could not do anything. They actually did not have the power to do anything even if they wanted to. Because I had come into that environment listening. And I had come into that environment completely with no violence in me at all. And a vast number of people there were saying that. That to me was an indicator of power of listening and non-violence," he added.
In his lecture, Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack at the Centre alleging that an attack has been unleashed on the basic structure of Indian democracy while also claiming that Israeli spyware Pegasus was being used to snoop into his phone.
The Congress leader claimed that he had been warned by the intelligence officers to be "careful" while speaking on the phone as his calls were being recorded.