Rahul Gandhi looks like Saddam Hussein, says Himanta Biswa Sarma; Congress calls Assam CM 'petty troll'

Vibha Sharma

New Delhi, November 23

In yet another day of high-voltage campaign in Gujarat, the ruling BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi again attacked the opposition Congress, charging it with “corruption”, “parivarvaad” and “sampradayvaad”.

While BJP leaders accused Rahul Gandhi of “hobnobbing” with activists like Medha Patkar who “blocked waters to the parched region for three decades,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma added a new dimension, targeting the beard he has been sporting while leading the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Sarma claimed it made Gandhi look like Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Addressing a poll event onTuesday, Sarma said: “…if you (Rahul Gandhi) have to change your looks at least make it like Vallabhbhai Patel or Jawaharlal Nehru…even better if you look like Gandhiji. But why do you look more like Saddam Hussein now?”

Comparing Sarma to a “petty troll”, the Congress said public servants needed to maintain “decorum of language and propriety”. Some of its leaders also claimed the “Prime Minister was scared of the success of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which is why the BJP was targeting him”.

“The chief minister of Assam, unfortunately, sounds like a petty troll when he articulates sentences of this kind,” Congress’ Manish Tewari said addressing mediapersons in Ahmedabad today.

There cannot be a bigger proof of a government’s “inefficiency” than the move to change its Chief Ministers, he also added, asking the BJP to speak on real issues than “divert attention from issues affecting the public like inflation, joblessness, management of the COVID-19 pandemic and corruption”.

The BJP replaced Anandiben Patel with Vijay Rupani, who was replaced with Bhupendra Patel last year.

Accusing the BJP of “legitimising corruption in Gujarat”, Tewari said “you say you want to implement this model in the entire country. The legitimisation of corruption is a dangerous sign for democracy”.

Referring to the Morbi bridge tragedy, he claimed the BJP has become “arrogant” and believes it cannot be removed from power. “If such a tragedy had taken place in some other state and 141 innocent people died and over 180 (were) injured… would responsibility not have been set? Would nobody have resigned?’ he said, pointing to comments on the issue by the Courts.

Regarding AAP, the Anandpur Sahib MP said the kind of administrative experience, sensitivity and responsibility required to run Punjab, which borders Pakistan, has not been shown by the AAP government there. “I would request the people of Gujarat to not repeat the mistake,” he said.

While the BJP is concentrating on the Congress, dismissing AAP as a non-entity, the Congress is concentrating on local issues. While targeting BJP on local issues, including the Morbi tragedy, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal has also been hitting out at Bhupendra Patel calling him a “puppet chief minister who cannot even appoint his peon”.

Pitching for AAP’s chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhv, Kejriwal called him a “young, educated man whose heart beats for the poor and is also the son of a farmer”.

Meanwhile, speaking in Mehsana, the PM said the region was developing into a hub of electric vehicle manufacturing in the world, creating a major opportunity for youths. “Electricity and water situation improved under the BJP. Today’s youth and first time voters are with the BJP because they have seen our party working with a development agenda,” the PM said.