Himanta Sarma was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an election campaign in Majuli (File)
Majuli, Assam:
Hours after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led a roadshow in Assam’s Jorhat, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that an “insignificant” number of people attended it and that watching rhinos at the Kaziranga National Park would be “more beneficial”.
“I heard around 2,000-3,000 people gathered (at Priyanka Vadra’s roadshow). It was not significant. Who will come to see Priyanka Gandhi? People will rather visit Kaziranga and watch tigers, rhinos, and the time spent there will be more useful,” he said.
The senior BJP leader was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an election campaign in Majuli.
Members of the Gandhi family are only fit for advertising campaigns, he claimed.
“What’s the benefit of seeing the Gandhi family? They look fit for the Amul campaign, so they are Amul babies. It’s more beneficial to watch rhinos at Kaziranga than catching a glimpse of Amul babies,” he said.
Leading a massive 2-km long roadshow in support of Congress candidate Gaurav Gogoi earlier in the day, Ms Vadra said the daily wages of tea garden workers will be hiked if the INDIA bloc wins the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Asked about Gaurav Gogoi’s poll prospects, Mr Sarma said, “Some people want to say that Gaurav Gogoi was an active parliamentarian. I challenge anyone who can show me a single word spoken by him for the Kaliabor constituency. Has he spoken a single word for Jorhat, Majuli?”
Mr Gogoi is a sitting Congress MP from Kaliabor, which was rechristened Kaziranga after delimitation last year. This time he is contesting from Jorhat and looking for a third consecutive term in Lok Sabha.
“We don’t need an active parliamentarian to shout ‘Rahul Gandhi zindabad‘. We need a parliamentarian who can speak for Assam’s problems. Gaurav is a spokesperson of the Gandhi family. He has not spoken a single word for the people of Assam,” Mr Sarma said.
The Chief Minister said that he is inspired if someone speaks for Assam inside Parliament since that helps expediting any pending work.
“He (Gaurav Gogoi) only speaks about Manipur in Parliament. Is he a son-in-law or grandchild of Manipur? Why does he speak about Manipur day and night? And some people here are enthused that he spoke a lot in Parliament. Assam remained backward for such statements,” the Chief Minister asserted.