'Duplicate Family Name': Himanta Fires Back After Rahul Gandhi's Most Corrupt Govt Claim Against Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarm alleged that the Gandhi family is carrying a "duplicate" name.

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi, and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Source : PTI

After Congress MP Rahul Gandhi dubbed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma the "most corrupt CM" in India, the BJP leader responded on Thursday by calling the Gandhi family "the most corrupt" in the country. "According to me, the Gandhi family is the most corrupt family in the country," Sarma told reporters after a function of BJP workers at its state headquarters. He also alleged that the Gandhi family is carrying a "duplicate" name.

"They are not only corrupt but also duplicate. Their family name is not even Gandhi, (but) they are carrying their duplicate names. I can catch if someone carries a duplicate licence, but I don't know what happens if one carries a duplicate title. That is why they are roaming," Sarma added.

#CorruptCongress pic.twitter.com/13FttNWjBE

— BJP Assam Pradesh (@BJP4Assam) January 18, 2024

He claimed that the Gandhi family was implicated in several corruption cases, including the Bofors fraud and assisting Union Carbide CEO Warren M Anderson, who was charged in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, in fleeing the country.

His comments came after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led administration in Assam, as well as Sarma, of being the most corrupt in the country.

Bofors scam
Agusta Westland scam
2G scam
CWG scam
Coal scam
National Herald scam

Never-ending list of #CorruptCongress.

Hey, @RahulGandhi is this enough or should we go on?

— BJP Assam Pradesh (@BJP4Assam) January 18, 2024

Speaking about the Yatra, the Chief Minister said: "This is not a 'Nyay Yatra', it's a 'Miya Yatra'. Wherever there are Muslims, there will be a crowd. Wherever there are no Muslims, there will be no crowd." 'Miya' was initially a pejorative epithet for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, and non-Bengali speakers often refer to them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, community activists have begun to use this phrase to express disobedience.

"Even their women will not come out, only the men will be there. In Assam, it will be a Miya Yatra minus women. I am not giving much importance to this Yatra because a handful of Miyas will participate in it," the BJP leader said.

Slamming BJP, Rahul Gandhi stated: "An atmosphere like civil war has been prevailing in Manipur for months. People are killing each other, but till date PM Modi has not gone to Manipur. In Nagaland, PM Modi did not fulfill the promise he had made 9 years ago. At the same time, Assam also has the most corrupt Chief Minister of India."

मणिपुर में महीनों से सिविल वॉर जैसा माहौल बना हुआ है।

लोग एक दूसरे को मार रहे हैं, लेकिन आज तक PM मोदी मणिपुर नहीं गए।

नागालैंड में PM मोदी ने 9 साल पहले जो वादा किया था, उसे पूरा नहीं किया।

वहींं असम में भी हिन्दुस्तान के सबसे भ्रष्ट मुख्यमंत्री हैं।

: @RahulGandhi जी pic.twitter.com/rVWJhM3LOo

— Congress (@INCIndia) January 19, 2024

Sarma stated in October of last year that the BJP does not need the votes of 'Miya' people from 'char' (riverine sandbar) areas for the next ten years, unless they transform themselves by abandoning customs such as child marriage.

"There was no crowd in the first meeting (of the Yatra). While travelling in Mariani, only a few people gathered at Deberpar. Please find out which community lives there. When the Yatra will pass Guwahati and move towards Dhubri, there will be some people, but without women," Sarma claimed.

The Congress represents only one sector of Muslims. Previously, everyone attended Congress sessions, but this time, moms and sisters would not attend, and dads will gradually cease coming, he continued.

When asked if the march will pass through Guwahati, Sarma said his administration had instructed them not to since the city contains medical institutes and hospitals.

"We will give permission for any alternative route if they seek," he added.

If the Congress reach Guwahati without permission, no case will be registered then as "I don't want to give them unnecessary limelight in the national media", he said.

A case would be filed later, and two "bad elements" who participated in the demonstration will be detained 3-4 months after the Lok Sabha elections, according to the chief minister, who did not reveal the identities of his "targets".

The Assam phase of the march, which began on Thursday morning, will go till January 25.

The Yatra began in Manipur on January 14 and will end on March 20 in Mumbai.