Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra re-entered Assam today. 23 January. Earlier at a meet in Meghalaya, Rahul Gandhi claimed that he was “prevented” from interacting with students of a private university. This allegation against Union Home Minister Amit Shah comes as Assam Chief Minister and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Himanta Biswa Sarma has denied the Yatra permission to enter Guwahati. According to latest reports, the Yatra was stopped at the Guwahati border by the heavy security that the Assam government had deployed.
In Meghalaya, on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had “instructed” that the Congress leader be prevented from talking to the students of the private university.
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that efforts are being made to enslave students of North East and India, adding “There is no need for any student to be afraid.”
The Wayanad MP alleged that he Home Minister of the country picked up the phone and called CM Himanta and said that Rahul Gandhi should not meet the students of Assam.
“ Wanted to come to your university and talk to you, understand what you are facing and try and see in my own little way if I could have helped you. The Home Ministry of India called up the CM of Assam and the CM’s office called up the leadership of your university and said that Rahul Gandhi must not be allowed to speak to the students of this university. It is not important if Rahul Gandhi comes or does not come. What is important is that you are allowed to listen to anybody you want to listen to. This is not only happening in Assam but in every single university, college or school in India,” Gandhi said, addressing students and others from atop his Yatra bus in the Assam-Meghalaya border.
Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to hold separate interactions with students, civil society members and party leaders at the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, (USTM) in Meghalaya’s Ri Bhoi district, bordering Assam, on Tuesday morning.
The programmes at the private varsity were announced by the Congress on Monday afternoon but were re-scheduled to a hotel, also in Ri Bhoi district, later after the university withdrew the permission.
“It is not important if Rahul Gandhi comes or not. What is important is that you are allowed to listen to anybody you want. You must be allowed to live the life as you want and not as somebody else wants,” he said.
“They want to turn you into slaves but I know that nobody, no power in the universe can do it,” Rahul Gandhi asserted, while attacking the BJP.
He also maintained that “this is happening not only in Assam but in every school, college, university of India”, where the students are “being not allowed to have their own imagination”.
Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Assam later on Tuesday said, “Assam CM (Himanta Biswas Sarma), the Union Home Minister (Amit Shah) and the PM (Narendra Modi) can break the rules but we (Congress) would never do such a thing. However, this doesn’t mean that we are weak. Congress workers are ‘Babbar Sher'”.
According to Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra‘s official handle on X, the Congress will hold a press conference later today. After that, the yatra will resume its journey and it will halt at Bishnupur in Assam.
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