Guwahati, July 16: All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi took part in closed-door meetings here as part of a day-long tour of Guwahati on Wednesday aimed at strengthening the party organisation ahead of next year’s Assam Assembly elections.
Earlier in the day, the senior Congress leaders landed at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport where they were received by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi along with other party leaders.
Assam PCC president Gaurav Gogoi took to social media to state, “Honoured to welcome Congress president Kharge ji and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to Guwahati today for a crucial meeting with the Assam Congress leadership. “
“Together with members of the Political Affairs Committee, PCC office bearers, MPs, MLAs, frontal heads, and DCC presidents, we held an in-depth discussion on strengthening the organisation and preparing for the challenges ahead,’ Gogoi said.
The AICC leaders also addressed a rally of Congress workers at Chaygaon later in the day. Members from Block Congress Committees and adjoining regions attended the rally.
In his speech, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, saying that “the chief minister thinks he is a ‘raja‘ (king) but would eventually be held accountable for corruption and sent to jail.”
In response, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also took a swipe on social media, saying, “He (Rahul Gandhi) came all the way to Assam just to say this, conveniently forgetting that he himself is out on bail in multiple criminal cases registered across the country. My best wishes to you, Rahul ji. Enjoy the hospitality of Assam for the rest of the day,”.
The Congress leader of the Opposition also alleged that thousands of acres in Assam are being given to big industrialists like Adani and Ambani while farmers and small traders are being “wiped out”.
“Today, water, forest, and land” of India are being handed over to a select few billionaires,” Gandhi alleged.
