Biswanath, January 21: On the eighth day of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, when Rahul Gandhi entered Assam for the second time from the Rajgarh-Hollongi (Assam-Arunachal Pradesh) border, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh took a dig at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, saying that the latter is suffering from an illness. "Assam Chief Minister is suffering from an illness. Whenever he sees Rahul Gandhi or hears Rahul Gandhi's name or the Congress party's name, he loses his cool. What can I do?" Ramesh said while addressing a press conference in Assam's Biswanath district on Sunday.

The senior Congress leader claimed that Himanta was enraged at the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra starting from the day women who had assembled for a state government event came forward to welcome Rahul Gandhi in Assam and asked him to pose in pictures with them. "Starting from the first day when women who had assembled to take part in a state government event came on the road to welcome Rahul Gandhi (in Assam) and asked him to pose in pictures with them, the Assam Chief Minister was enraged and disturbed. So he is finding one opportunity or the other (to disturb the Yatra) whether in Jorhat or Guwahati," Ramesh said. Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya Statehood Day 2024: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi Greet People of Three Northeast States

Jairam Ramesh said that though the Bharat Jodo Yatra faced some difficulties while passing through Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, it was never "targeted" in a similar manner in which the Assam Chief Minister is targeting the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. "During the Bharat Jodo Yatra, we faced some difficulties when our Yatra passed through BJP-ruled Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, but no Chief Minister had earlier targeted the Bharat Jodo Yatra like the Assam Chief Minister. This shows his mentality. This is our first experience. Every day, every hour, we are facing one problem or the other," Ramesh said.

In another dig at the Assam Chief Minister Jairam Ramesh advised him to relax till January 25, the last day of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the state and continue to fill his coffers in the meantime. "I would like to advice him to relax till January 25 when we will be completing our Yatra peacefully. You can carry on with whatever work you have like filling up your coffers. You are Kuber, now you will be super-Kuber. Please continue till the next elections when Assam's people will give you the right answer," Ramesh said.

Reminding Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of his association with the Congress before switching over to the BJP, Ramesh said, "We are staying in a democracy. This is a democratic yatra by the country's oldest political party, which has been in power for several years. The Chief Minister has been in this party for around 25 years." Expressing his hope that the Assam Chief Minister will change his mind and give permission for the Yatra to pass through Guwahati, the Congress General Secretary said, "The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will be peacefully staged in Guwahati. I believe that the Assam Chief Minister will change his mind, will step back from his arrogance and will give permission for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Guwahati." Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam: Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi Participates in Cultural Program in Majuli, Dons 'Bajrang Bali' Mask and Holds Mace (Watch Video)

 Jairam Ramesh Takes a Dig at Himanta Biswa Sarma

Sharing the schedule of Rahul Gandhi's on Monday afternoon, he said, "Tomorrow, Rahul Gandhi will have a meeting with the Congress North East Committee under the presidency of Nabam Tuki, the former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh at the Meghalaya-Assam border. He will also interact with youths for an hour because the foremost problem here is youth unemployment. Following this Rahul Gandhi will meet the Congress North East Coordination Committee members."

Jairam Ramesh said that it is doubtful whether Rahul Gandhi will be able to go to the Guwahati Press Club. He said that, though he has a copy of the invitation to the Press Club, we will not be disclosing it because he claimed that the Assam Chief Minister will harass the one who has sent out the invitation.

"Though it is doubtful whether he will be able to make it to Guwahati Press Club, he will be addressing the press tomorrow at around 12:30 pm at the campsite...I have a copy of the invitation to Rahul Gandhi from the Guwahati Press Club. But I do not want to disturb anyone...If I get the opportunity, I may release it. I do not want to release it now because the one who sent the invitation will be harassed by the Assam Chief Minister. This is because just like Narendra Modi's politics, the Assam Chief Minister's politics is also based on revenge," he said.

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