Dibrugarh: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday (January 30) accused Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of disrespecting Assam’s culture by not wearing a ‘gamucha’, presented by President Droupadi Murmu at the ‘At Home’ reception hosted by her on Republic Day. Speaking at a public event at Khanikar Parade Ground in Dibrugarh, the Union Home Minister intensified his attack on Gandhi for allegedly not wearing Assamese scarf during the event..
All dignitaries, including those from abroad, had worn the scarf as a mark of respect, but Gandhi was the “only person to refuse” to do so, Shah claimed.
“Across the world, various cultural ‘gamchas’ from Assam and the North-East are symbols of respect for our North-East culture. On 26th January, during the At-Home programme, the President put up North-East ‘gamchas’ for everyone... all the other people who came put on North-East ‘gamchas’, except one person, whose name is Rahul Gandhi,” the Union Home Minister said.
“What kind of enmity does he have? Why does he do so much injustice to our North-East people? Rahul Gandhi can do whatever he wants to do. As long as the BJP is in politics, no one can shake the culture of the North-East... Today, our PM Modi is taking the ‘gamcha’ of Assam to the UN stage. In his UN speech, by mentioning Shankar Dev and Madhav Dev, he is promoting and spreading our culture to the world,” he added.
Shah’s remarks came after several videos and photos surfaced online, where Gandhi was seen without a gamucha. “Rahul Gandhi can do whatever he wants, but as long as the BJP is in power, it will not allow any disrespect of the North East’s culture,” he said. He also alleged that the Congress did nothing for Assam’s development.
“I want to ask Rahul Gandhi what his party has given to Assam except guns, bullets, conflict and deaths of youth,” the Union Home Minister said.
Shah also alleged that the grand old party was using infiltration as a “weapon for its vote bank politics”. “There has been no infiltration in Assam since the BJP came to power. Those who had come to India illegally will be identified and sent back,” he added.
Other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, also slammed the Congress leader over the gamucha controversy.
The Assam Chief Minister also hit out at the Lok Sabha LoP. “It was a custom for the people of the North East to offer gamosa or a different kind of traditional angavastra. Rahul Gandhi refused to wear that angavastra, and he has not done so for the first time yesterday,” Sarma said on Tuesday, as quoted by India Today NE.
“He does that repeatedly; whenever he comes to Assam, he refuses to wear a gamosa. It has become a norm for him now,” he added.
The Assembly elections in Assam are scheduled to take place in April or May this year. However, the Election Commission is yet to announce official dates.
